Court orders Haripur DC to vacate portion of playground

HARIPUR: The judge of the Consumer Court on Wednesday directed the deputy commissioner to vacate within a week time the portion of the playground of Regional Professional Development Centre, Haripur, by removing the kiosks that the TMA and district administration had installed there for Sasta bazaar.

According to Advocate Aziz Ahmed Khan, the counsel for Regional Professional Development Centre commonly known as teachers training school, during October 2020 the district administration had occupied the portion of the playground by establishing 12 kiosks for sasta bazaar which were later converted into shops made of corrugated iron sheets and iron pipes.

He said that despite repeated requests the district administration had failed to clear the playground of the kiosks due to which the sports activities of RPDC’s students and the youth from the neighboring localities came to halt.

But on public complaints, the then judge consumer court asked the assistant director consumer protection for submission of a detailed report.

The official, according to Khan, held meetings with the officials of district administration, Tehsil Municipal Administration and the RPDC and went through the record and in his written report he endorsed that the land of playground belonged to the RPDC and due to occupation of portion of playground the sports activities of the youth from the surrounding localities and the RPDC were affected.

On the inquiry report of the assistant director consumer protection, the consumer judge, through a written order on December 12, 2021, directed the DC to remove the steel cabin and vacate the playground within ten days.

But the district administration and TMA moved the court against the order and the consumer court again conducted an inquiry through a single member’s commission by Advocate Bilal Rasheed who again endorsed the plea of RPDC’s administration and the Assistant Director Consumer Court. The consumer judge Haripur Muneera Abbasi, upon completion of arguments from both sides, on Wednesday issued an oral order asking the DC Haripur to vacate the portion of the playground of the RPDC within a week time. Waheed Khan, the assistant government pleader, represented the district administration in the case.