IHC serves notice on MNA, city bosses for grabbing greenbelt

On a petition against National Assembly member and PML-Q senior leader Ameer Muqam, accused of grabbing a greenbelt measuring five kanals in Sector I/10, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday issued notices to the Capital Development Authority (CDA) chairman, Islamabad SSP and Ameer Muqam.
A single bench comprising Justice Muhammad Anwar Kasi resumed the hearing of the case on a petition filed by a citizen, Abu Ammar Sehri, who contented that he was the lawful owner of a plot in Sector 1/10, and adjacent to his plot, the CDA-owned greenbelt measuring five kanals had been grabbed by Muqam. The petitioner submitted that according to the CDA’s master plan, the greenbelts/catchments could neither be allotted nor could be given to anyone provisionally for temporary use.
Malik Waqas, the counsel for plaintiff, told the court that some days ago the PML-Q minister, with the connivance of Islamabad Police, ‘aggressed’ the said land by building concrete structures. He said that when construction work was in progress, the matter was brought to the notice of CDA but the authority remained silent over the issue.
“The land worth millions of rupees falls in the developed sector governed by the CDA and shall not be allowed to land grabbers,” the petition said. The lawyer told the court that Frontier Police and FC officials were on duty on the said land.
The petitioner said that being adjacent to the said greenbelt, he had written many times to the CDA chairman and director enforcement that he would purchase the greenbelt on the market rates or through open auction if they wanted to sell it. However, he said, the civic body refused saying that according to the master plan, the said land could neither be allotted nor be given on lease.
The petitioner prayed the court that CDA chairman and Islamabad SSP be directed to takeover the said land from the possession of Muqam and initiate criminal proceedings against the minister. He requested the court that the construction work at the said land should also be halted. Justice Anwar Kasi issued notices to Ameer Muqam, CDA chairman, CDA member planning, member environment, director estate and Islamabad SSP. The court adjourned the hearing for an indefinite period.