PHC seeks commissioner’s report on long-delayed Regi plot possession

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has asked the commissioner of Peshawar to submit a report on petitions concerning the prolonged delay in handing over possession of plots in Regi Model Town to allottees.

A bench comprising Justice Sahibzada Asadullah and Justice Inamullah Khan fixed June 17 for the next hearing and directed the commissioner, who heads a committee formed to address the longstanding issue, to place his report before the court by that date.

Additional Advocate General Niaz Mohammad told the court that the commissioner had already prepared the report and that it would be submitted at the earliest.

The court was hearing four petitions filed by hundreds of allottees, including Regi Model Town Affectees Association president Sirajul Haq and others. The petitioners asked the court to declare the denial of possession of plots in zones I, II and V of Regi Model Town illegal and motivated by ulterior considerations.

Petitioners seek possession of allotted plots

The petitioners said they were representing all affected families and requested the court to direct the respondents, including the provincial government and the Peshawar Development Authority, to hand over possession of plots for which payments had already been made.

They also asked the court to order the government to resolve the longstanding land dispute involving members of the Kokikhel tribe over land earmarked for the housing scheme.

Lawyers Ayaz Khan, Saifullah Muhib Kakakhel, Mumtaz Ahmad and others appeared for the petitioners. During the hearing, Ayaz Khan told the court that the petitioners had been allotted plots in the PDA’s Regi Model Town project in 1993, but possession had still not been delivered.

He said that zones III and IV of the scheme had been developed and houses had already been built there. According to the counsel, the allotment dates for plots in all zones were the same, but allottees in three zones were still waiting because of the dispute over the Maffey-Griffith Line between the Kukikhel tribe and the government regarding ownership of the land.

Lawyers highlight scale of the issue

The petitioners’ counsel said some allottees had purchased the plots from original owners and had remained aggrieved for years because, in their view, the respondents had not treated the dispute seriously or resolved it.

He further argued that some allottees had bought the plots in their youth and spent their savings on them. He told the court that many had since retired, while others were close to retirement, and had hoped to build homes in Regi Model Town but were unable to do so due to what he described as a lack of interest by the PDA and other respondents.

According to the petitioners’ lawyer, around 17,000 families were affected, including families of martyrs and retired government employees. He also told the court that the government had launched new townships instead of resolving this issue.

Officials cite complexity of land dispute

During the previous hearing, the deputy commissioners of Peshawar and Khyber districts informed the court that the land in question belonged to the Kokikhel tribe, with one portion falling in Khyber district and the remaining area in Peshawar district.

They told the court that the matter involved multiple stakeholders and was complex, and that the commissioner of Peshawar Division had taken keen interest in trying to resolve it. However, they said that despite extensive efforts, no final settlement had yet been reached.

Last year, the lawyer for the Peshawar Development Authority had informed the court that a committee had been constituted to examine the matter, with the Peshawar commissioner serving as its head. He had said the committee’s terms of reference included verifying the legitimacy of compensation claims relating to the disputed land and addressing valid grievances.