PHC gives KP govt three months to restore Galiyat forest boundaries

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Wednesday allowed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government three months to restore forest boundaries in the Galiyat region, including Dungagali, and ordered the provincial forest secretary to submit a report by Sept 16.

The order was issued by a bench comprising Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Faheem Wali during proceedings on a petition filed by the Galiyat Tahafuz Movement. The petition challenges several notifications issued by the previous caretaker provincial government for appointments to the Galiyat Development Authority Board, as well as subsequent steps taken by the board and its director general, including the facilitation of construction of a high-rise building on land described in court as disputed and identified as Hilda Estate.

The bench directed Forest, Climate Change and Wildlife Secretary Junaid Khan to restore the forests in Galiyat to their original position and to hold a meeting with officials of the Survey of Pakistan on the issue. The court had summoned the forest secretary, the GDA director general and other officials at the previous hearing on May 21 after earlier directions for restoring forest boundaries in Dunga Gali, Abbottabad, were not complied with.

Survey and encroachment figures placed before court

During the hearing, Junaid Khan, GDA Director General Mohammad Fawad, forest conservator Hayat Ali and other officials appeared before the court. At the outset, petitioner’s counsel Babar Khan Yousafzai read out the previous order, after which the bench sought an update from the forest secretary.

The secretary submitted a report stating that he had convened a meeting on June 8 to review the latest position. The Survey of Pakistan carried out a demarcation survey of the Gallies Reserved Forests, spread over 307,424 kanals, in 2015-16 and identified 7,616 kanals as encroached land.

He told the court that 6,632 kanals had been recovered in an anti-encroachment operation, while 984 kanals remained occupied. He further said a fresh survey in 2020-21 found 1,017 kanals under encroachment, of which 744 kanals had been retrieved, leaving 243 kanals under occupation, mostly because of litigation.

The secretary added that the drive against encroachments continued and led to the recovery of another 58.3 kanals, bringing the remaining encroached area down to 184.8 kanals. He said that as of June 8, the total land still under encroachment stood at 159 kanals, including 45.45 kanals tied up in litigation, while 113.5 kanals reflected discrepancies between revenue and forest department records.

Court raises concern over records and construction pressure

The forest secretary told the court that conflicting revenue entries were the main issue in Galiyat, saying that some records showed land as belonging to the forest department, while other entries listed the same parcels as privately owned. The bench observed that it was the secretary’s responsibility to examine the alterations made in the record and formally take up the matter with the revenue department.

The court said it wanted forest land identified in the Survey of Pakistan maps of 2015 and 2016 to be restored to its earlier status and action taken against encroachers. The secretary told the bench that his department was working jointly with the GDA and that demarcation had already been carried out, with three surveys identifying various locations as part of the forest.

During the proceedings, Justice Arshad Ali remarked that the sharp rise in the number of hotels in Galiyat had badly affected the environment. The bench also observed that, given the current condition of forests in Nathiagali, the area risked losing its healthy environment in the future because of large-scale hotel construction. Justice Arshad stressed the need to preserve the forests for future generations and told officials that while the court could pass orders, implementation rested with the administration.

GDA says new NOCs not being issued

GDA Director General Mohammad Fawad told the court that no new no-objection certificates were currently being issued. He said new building rules had been framed under which NOCs and construction permits, to be processed through seven stages, would only be granted for non-forest land falling within the authority’s jurisdiction.

The bench asked whether hotel construction amounted to development in Galiyat and also pointed to traffic jams lasting for hours in the area. In response, the GDA chief said the matter was receiving attention, that he was personally supervising it, and that the authority’s role was to make Galiyat safe. He also stated that no commercial building was being allowed on any GDA land.

When the bench asked how much time was needed to restore the forest boundaries, the forest secretary replied that the exercise was technical in nature and would require at least three months. The court then directed him to complete the task and present a report by Sept 16.