Muzaffarabad:
The chief judge of Azad Jammu and the Supreme Cashmire judge (AJKSC), judge Raja Saeed Akram Khan, ordered Mirpur municipal authorities on Tuesday to assert the ban on commercial construction in residential areas and immediately cease illegal encroachments on green belt lands.
President of the procedure in the register of the Supreme Court’s branch in Mirpur, the chief judge heard several cases, including a deposited against the mayor of the city.
He expressed a strong concern in the face of the uncontrolled conversion of land intended for parks and green belts in commercial use, with the approval of the officials of the Municipal Corporation and the Mirpur Development Authority (MDA).
Judge Akram expressed his dissatisfaction with the mayor and asked: “Why shouldn’t you be disqualified about your position because of this negligence, this negligence and this illegal conduct?”
The court reprimanded the mayor and ordered him to submit a detailed report explaining which legal authority or the provisions of commercial activities was authorized in green belt areas, and why stores and other companies were authorized on such plots.
The court stressed that these actions constituted a clear violation of the orders and directives of the previous judicials.
The mayor was also responsible for arresting and deleting all commercial activities and unauthorized constructions established on green belts and residential plots without delay.
In addition, all officials of the Corporation Municipal and the MDA were responsible for providing a detailed report on the total area allocated to View Point Park, specifying the amount of stacked land and the extent of the unauthorized construction carried out there.
The director of the MDA was specifically prohibited to approve the construction of any other buildings or commercial structures, in particular in residential areas.
The court said that in no case should commercial activity be authorized in the areas designated for housing.
The court was also informed that certain residential plots had been illegally converted into commercial plots to violation of rules and regulations.
Although the constructions completed or underway on these plots are not affected at this stage, the court strictly ordered that no new commercial construction is authorized on recently converted plots, even if the Allottes had construction permits issued by the authority.
It was noted that the deputy commissioner and commissioner of the Mirpur division had already been summoned and reprimanded, with instructions to ensure the abolition of all illegal constructions and encroachments under their supervision.
The case was adjourned for new procedures. The people present in the court included the mayor of the Municipal Corporation Mirpur, Chaudhry Usman Khalid, Raja Humayun Razaq (Succession agent, Municipal Corporation Mirpur), Chaudhry Amjad Iqbal (Director Estate, MDA) and Mirza Kaleem (Administrative Administrative, MDA).
