PESHAWAR: The provincial government on Monday presented the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chashma Right Bank Canal (Lift Cum Gravity) Project Control and Prevention of Speculation in Land Ordinance 2010, in the provincial assembly to ban purchase and sale of property at the proposed site of the project.
However MPA Israrullah Khan Gandapur from DI Khan termed the ordinance as unconstitutional and against the rights of the citizens and urged the government to refrain from the legislation.
Israr opined that with the passage of the law, the government will violate article 23 of the constitution which has allowed all the citizens of Pakistan to acquire and purchase property in any part of the country.
The ordinance, he said will cancel land transfers in DI Khan which had been done from 1995 to 2000 and will prohibit sale and purchase of the property at the site of the project till its completion or for a period of 15 years.
Gandapur further said it has been envisaged in the constitution that people can purchase and sell property in any part of the country but the ordinance has proposed that no person out of the revenue state can purchase or sell property at the site.
Moreover, he said the government will assess the prices of the property between the four-year period when the land was sold at Rs4,000 per kanal however at present the property was being sold at Rs20,000 per kanal, which he said will be considered a ‘robbery’ on part of the government.
PPP parliamentary leader Abdul Akbar Khan also opposed the amendment and said that the government has no right to cancel the land transfers besides grabbing the public property.
Minister for Revenue Syed Murid Kazim said the ordinance will stop the land mafia to purchase land at through-away prices in the area.
“It will protect the people of Dera to sell their property to the land grabbers and land mafia as in past the land grabbers had deprived the actual property owners of the benefit of the project,” he argued.
Law Minister Arshad Abdullah in support of the ordinance said it is not against the basic rights and will protect the poor people of the district from land grabbers.
Later Bashir Bilour suggested that the MPA from Dera should not oppose the ordinance and allow the government to bring it in the house adding that his proposals could be included.
But Israrullah said he will not want to be part of the illegal legislation therefore asked the speaker to put his dissenting note to vote, which was turned down by majority of lawmakers.
Later the law minister presented the ordinance in the house. – PPI -statesman
