Islamabad: The Supreme Court (SC) observed on Monday that the fertile lands of the Morian and Tamma villages cannot be given to the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) for the development of a housing society, a news source reported.
A four-member bench of the apex court, led by Justice Mushir Alam, made this pronouncement while hearing a case regarding the land acquisition operation formerly underway in the Morian and Tamma villages by the currently-inoperative Federal Government Employees Housing Foundation (FGEHF).
During the proceedings, Justice Ijazul Ahsan asked how the government could allot fertile lands to the SCBA for a residential scheme development. SCBA counsel Rasheed Rizvi, in response, stated that the land area concerned was barren, and further invited the bench to visit the site. Ahsan additionally asked whether it was legal for a private firm to procure land according to the Capital Development Authority (CDA) Ordinance.
Following the deliberations, the bench postponed its ruling regarding the case till Tuesday.
The apex court had remarked in its previous hearing that the FGEHF was barred from building housing schemes in the Morian and Tamma villages, given that the development of any such structure fell against the directives of the Islamabad master plan.
The master plan divides the federal capital into five zones; with the Islamabad Capital Territory (Zoning) Regulations 1992 further identifying the city’s geographical distributions and land boundaries. Under this arrangement, the lands of the Morian and Tamma villages are located in Zone IV and can only be used for projects of ‘national significance’, such as orchards, rehabilitation centres, nurseries, farming schemes, and green belts [specifically under Regulation 4 (A) (b)].
Last October, the CDA and FGEHF tried to forcefully dislodge the residents of the concerned villages – leading the latter into a violent skirmish with the federal police. Consequently, the apex court asked the federal administration to stop all evictions from the Morian and Tamma villages.
