PESHAWAR: The Local Government and Rural Development Department (LG&RDD) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has declared the NOC and LOP (Layout Plan) issued to so-called “New Khanpur City” housing scheme in Haripur illegal.

An official communiqué issued here said the society was not fulfilling the local government rules and regulations and despite that Tehsil Officer Infrastructure (TOI) of Khanpur issued NOC and LOP in haste, adding that Tehsil Municipal Administration has formally charged the official and sought his response.

It said that Muhammad Khurshid Khan, the original owner of the land of in his complain submitted with the Provincial Local Government Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in June last year claimed that the land shown to TMA was actually his own property which was specifically earmarked for agricultural purposes.

He further alleged that TMA Khanpur surprisingly issued the NOC / LOP for this residential scheme in a very hasty manner and avoided finding out the facts about the actual ownership of the land at the time.

Moreover, the LOP was issued in the name of a company named “New Khanpur City Private Limited” which was registered after the issuance of NOC and in the name of this company there was no land in Surrey in Khanpur.

Local Government Secretary Syed Zaheerul Islam Shah while exercising his powers under the Local Council Servants (E&D) Rules, 1980 and Local Council Board (Conduct of Business) Rules, 1988 ordered an inquiry against Tehsil Officer of Khanpur and established a two-member investigation committee.

The committee found the Tehsil Officer guilty of irregularities in this regard. In the charge sheet issued to TOI, the Municipal Secretary made it clear by referring to the report of the inquiry committee that the Mazkura tehsil officer was found guilty of violating the rules regarding the issuance of provisional NOC to the New Khanpur City Housing Scheme.

The chargesheet further disclosed that the presence of basic amenities including gas, electricity, water, street lights, roads, and sewerage system in the housing scheme was not ensured while issuing the NOC and the LOP as per rules. And the situation on the spot was neither confirmed nor was the total area of the scheme disclosed which was the responsibility of TMA.

Secretary Local Government while seeking a written response from TOI on the said irregularities warned that otherwise unilateral action would be taken against him.

Meanwhile, Malik Muhammad Khurshid, the original owner of the land in question, while appreciating the initiative of the Municipalities Department for exposing the irregularities of the TMA, said that the Civil Court of Haripur has also issued an injunction against New Khanpur City.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023