RAWALPINDI: Agriculture extension department and Pir Mehr Ali Shah-Rawalpindi Arid Agriculture University (PMAS-RAAU) are at loggerheads over the possession of land adjacent to the university premises.

Agriculture Extension District Officer Muhammad Arif wrote a letter to the District Coordination Officer (DCO) Sajid Zafar Dall complaining that the university administration had installed a gate and constructed boundary walls on the land owned by the department.

He said that the construction of the boundary wall had closed off the entrance of a mosque located in the officers’ residential colony of the agriculture extension department.

Upon receiving the letter, the DCO directed the revenue department to provide him with the revenue records of the area within two days.

According to a revenue department official, the agriculture department owned land from 6th Road to Shamsabad.

He said that before the establishment of the university, the land was given to the Agriculture College which was later upgraded to a university in late 1980s.

However, he said that according to the agriculture department documents, the land was under the department’s name.  

Executive District Officer Dr Shahid Sajjad Asghar told Dawn that the university administration installed the gate without prior permission from the agriculture department.

He said that before the establishment of the university, the land was owned by the agriculture department and was part of a farm.

“The department allocated two blocks for the university but the remaining four blocks and residential colony was in the department’s possession,” he said.

Dr Asghar said that the department had all the records of the land and would provide these to the DCO. He said demarcation of land will soon be carried out.

He said that the department also informed the Sadiqabad police about this illegal action by the university administration, following their failure to convince the university administration otherwise.

On the other hand, PMAS-RAA University spokesman Nadeem Malik said the university administration did not block access to the agriculture department’s residential colony by installing this gate.

“We are constructing boundary walls and installing barbed wires and gates as per standard operating procedures issued by the local administration in the wake of terrorist attacks,” he said.

Mr Malik said that all construction work had been done on the university premises and there was no encroachment.

He said that gate number 3 was installed on main Murree Road and the approach to the residential colony remained open.

Published in Dawn, January 29th, 2015

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