PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has directed Nowshera’s deputy commissioner to approve a PC-I and ensure early construction of the boundary wall of the University of Peshawar’s botanical garden in Azakhel area of the district.

A bench consisting of Chief Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan and Justice Abdul Shakoor directed the relevant sub-divisional officer (SDO) of the communication and works department to take up the matter with the deputy commissioner for according administrative approval to PC-I prepared for constructing the boundary wall, which had collapsed after the district administration took over a vast piece of land of the botanical gardens few years ago.

It directed SDO Khushdil Khan and National Accountability Bureau additional deputy prosecutor general Mohammad Ali, who was appointed the focal person on the matter, to submit their respective reports regarding the construction of the boundary wall by Nov 23 and put off hearing until then.

The court was hearing a petition of the UoP syndicate against the Feb 3, 2016, orders of the Nowshera district nazim to cancel the lease of 567 kanals of land of the botanical garden.

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During a hearing, the court had ordered the district administration to hand over the ‘possession’ of land to the university.

Advocates Abdul Samad Khan and Waseemuddin Khattak represented the syndicate and the vice-chancellor respectively, whereas director of the botanical garden Dr Asadullah, UoP assistant director (legal) Riaz Ali Khan and additional advocate general Mohammad Sohail were also in attendance.

The bench expressed annoyance over the absence of additional deputy commissioner, Nowshera, Quratul Ain Wazir, who was assigned some responsibilities by the court, and directed her to remain careful in future and not to take the court’s proceedings causally.

On Feb 24, 2014, the then chief minister, Pervez Khattak, had ordered the provision of around 500 kanals of the botanical garden’s land for the establishment of the campuses of the Air University and Technical University.

However, the high court had declared the order illegal on June 9, 2014.

The then Nowshera nazim, Liaquat Khattak, who is the brother of Mr Khattak, later ordered cancellation of the lease of land measuring 567 kanals.

When the bench took up for hearing the case, Dr Asadullah submitted a report and stated that after taking over its possession, presently, the building was under the control of the UoP.

Regarding the restoration of the botanical garden and construction of the boundary wall, SDO Khushdil Khan said two PC-Is had been prepared with first one for the construction of the entire building at the estimated cost of Rs148.38 million.

He added that the second PC-I with the estimated cost of Rs58.44 million had been prepared for the boundary wall.

The petitioners had said the UoP’s syndicate had approved the establishment of the Centre of Plant Biodiversity in Dec 2003 and that included the establishment of a botanical garden in Azakhel area of Nowshera for which the district administration had leased out 689 kanals of land for 99 years in 2005.

They said almost all plants in the botanical garden were destroyed, while the people had taken away doors and windows after the district administration took over the land.

Published in Dawn, October 29th, 2022