Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court was apprised on Tuesday that about 400 trees were cut down in Murree hill resort by the housing society of Bahria Town.

A three-member SC bench comprising Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, Justice Maqbool Baqar and Justice Faisal Arab was hearing a suo motu case pertaining to destruction of forests and illegal acquisition of lands by Bahria Town in Murree.

During the hearing, Justice Faisal Arab noted that the establishment of private housing societies in Murree had left negative impacts on the environment. He said if the ongoing pace of construction continued in Murree, the Murree of today will be quite different from that of Murree to be emerged after 30 years.

Aitzaz Ahsan, senior counsel for Bahria Town Chief Executive Malik Riaz Hussain, argued before the court that the project of housing society in Murree was being established by Bahria Town on a private land. He said the land being owned by the government or the forest department was not being occupied or utilised by Bahria Town.

He said law does not bar anyone to construct on his private land. He said if anyone is barred from the construction on his own land, he is granted something in its exchange.

He said Bahria Town purchased the shamlat lands and made constructions over it. Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan noted that if housing societies were allowed construction, then how would the owners of private lands be restrained not to construct on their lands to save the environment?

“It has to be seen whether these housing societies were affecting the master plan of Murree or not,” Justice Maqbool Baqar noted. Aitzaz Ahsan stated that due to the ban on the construction work in Murree, the construction work of Bahria Town’s housing project was put to a half, which resulted in huge losses.

He contended that Bahria Town has not occupied any private or public land. He said his client had purchased private and shamlat land in Murree and now wanted to construct over it, adding that during the purchase of the land in Murree, no one objected. To a court query, Ahsan conceded that the land of shamlat was an agricultural land, however it could be used for other purposes. Later, the court adjourned the hearing.

Published in Daily Times, April 11^th 2018.