ISLAMABAD, July 24: Attorney General Munir A. Malik has suggested that the much debated case regarding the illegal constructions on agro-farms should be closed and the matter should be resolved by imposing a fine on violators.

Of the total 504 agro-farms which have been allotted by the CDA, 201 were found violating the lease agreement.

The civic body had allowed the construction of a single storey on a covered area of 4,850 square feet, but some owners of the agro-farms had constructed three to four times the allowed space.

The case has been under trial in the Supreme Court of Pakistan for the past four years and is being heard by a three-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.

Even the Capital Development Authority (CDA) has admitted that the construction on the 201 agro-farms in the federal capital was a clear violation of the civic body’s bylaws.

The issue came into limelight during Pervez Musharraf’s tenure when a large number of political figures purchased farmhouses and used them for residential purpose.

In 2011, Pervez Musharraf’s farmhouse was sealed because of court orders and he is currently detained there after the district administration declared his farmhouse a sub-jail.

In April 2013, the court ordered the CDA to restore all 504 farmhouses to the status envisaged in the original lease deal, but a number of owners, mainly women, appeared before the Supreme Court claiming that they had raised the construction with the permission of CDA.

Therefore, the owners were allowed to stay till a final decision was made.

On Wednesday, Attorney General Munir A. Malik suggested that the matter should be resolved by imposing a fine on encroachers, stating that he had also suggested the government in writing in this regard.

He said the CDA had the authority to legalise those farms by amending the master plan or by rezoning the federal capital.

The city had been divided into five zones in 1992, and according to CDA bylaws, Zone III and IV were declared National Park Area where buildings could not be constructed. These agro-farms are located in this National Park Area and were allotted to meet the fruit-and-vegetable requirements of the capital.

The court directed Attorney General Munir A Malik to get instructions from the government as only it (government) could rectify the violations of the city’s master plan.

It further observed that the government might have to rectify the changes through an ordinance.

A senior official of CDA, requesting not to be identified, said he believed there was no need to make any changes in the master plan.

“Three days ago we had a meeting with Munir A Malik and he said he would suggest in the court for a one time condonation (pardon) to legalise the constructions. Although the final decision will be taken by the CDA Board, policy states that Rs250 per square feet will be charged to legalise these encroachments,” he said.