Respondent No,2 being unnecessary has been struck down since the petitioner stands aggrieved by the order of the Executive Officer, Cantonment Board, Multan Cantt. Who is present in person before this Court.
2. The chequered history of the instant writ petition is that a recreation park was situated in front of Old Market Opal Shaheed Road, Multan Cantt. Since old times, there were recreations and the children used to play there and public at large used to come and sit there but due to the negligence on behalf of the administration of Cantonment Board this park's position was dilapidated. Now the administration of Cantonment Board without any lawful authority has dug out this children park in order to build commercial shops and prior to this the same administration has converted the green belts into commercial shops and in this way the inhabitants of the area have been deprived from jogging and park facilities green belts and gardens and this park also existed before partition for children therefore, it can never be converted into commercial plazas. The inhabitants of the area objected and the news also came in the newspaper but the respondents are obdurate, therefore, they have deprived the inhabitants of the area from their fundamental rights of recreation.
3. Learned Assistant Advocate-General present on Court's call was directed to establish contact with the respondent No,1 to appear in person before this Court. Respondent No,1 Manad Masud, Executive Officer, Cantonment Board, Multan Cantt. Appeared alongwith his learned counsel. He submitted before this Court that this park existed in the papers and it had been also present on the spot as a children park but from a long time this park has been neglected, before, the people have started lodging their bully carts and all sorts of junk material over there, therefore, the Administrator Executive Officer, Cantonment Board, Multan Cantt. Has decided to build temporary shed shops on this children park as the Old Market Opal Shaheed Road is about to be pull down in order to build new market and the shopkeepers of this market have been given temporary sheds at the children park. He further stated that shopkeepers in the Old Market Opal Shaheed Road, Multan Cantt. Have also filed some writ petitions that this market should not be demolished, therefore, this action has been taken in order to accommodate, those shopkeepers whose shops are being demolished in order to re-construct the market.
4. Learned counsel for the respondent No,1 filed reply. He submitted in his reply that Cantonment Board, Multan owns an old fruit vegetable and meat market situated at Opal Shaheed Road, Sadar Bazar, Multan Cantt. This market was more than one century old and is in ruinous and dilapidated condition and most of the area and shops have turned into ruins and are lying vacant and there are only a few shopkeepers, who are running their business by occupying the old shops. The Cantonment Board with the approval of higher authorities planned to construct new fruit, vegetable and meat market by demolishing the old one, design of which has already been approved and in this connection the sitting tenants were served with notices to vacate the site for demolishing and removing the superstructure to start with the new construction but the sitting tenants resisted and filed Writ Petition No,12344 of 2000, which stands disposed of by the High Court on 5-12-2000 and Writ Petition No,782 of 2001, which is still pending. Besides all the other demands one of the demands of the shopkeepers is to provide substitute place of their business to shift the shops from the old market during the construction work. He further submitted that the plot existing in front of the old market was selected for temporary construction by the representative of the shopkeepers and further it was lying in a very bad condition and was being used unauthorisedly by the inhabitants of the locality by parking Rehries etc. It was existing in a very poor and bad condition without any grass and other facilities as the proposal of the construction of said market the said place i,e, the site for construction of temporary shops could not be developed due to the construction work, "It is in the mind of the authority to develop the said place in a Green Belt/Children Park after the completion of the construction work on the old market site". In this way the construction work started is purely of temporary nature for the settlement of the existing sitting tenants in the old market on their own demand. No permanent construction work has been planned to be raised on this site. In paragraph 2 of the reply they have admitted that park is recorded as "Children Park" but practically it has ceased to be used as children park being situated in the centre of commercial area. It is rather being used as Parking Area by Rehris/rikshaws and vendors and the Cantonment Board is fully conscious of its responsibilities and is already developing Green Belts adjacent to the old market which is being demolished for construction of a new market.
5. I have heard the learned counsel of the petitioner as well as respondent and perused the report and have also heard the Executive Officer, Cantonment Board, Multan. The sorry state of affairs in this case is that the Executive Officer, Cantonment Board, Multan is admitting that the children park exists in the papers, it was being used as children park in the past but due to his negligence it is now in a very bad condition and used for Rahris and rickshaws. This statement carries a bad name to his office as Executive Officer, Cantonment Board, Multan and shows their discreet arbitrary decision of conversion of green belts of children park into commercial shops. The Executive Officer or any Nazim, who is an elected representative; in no way is empowered by law to convert any place, which is meant for public purpose, which is used for public purpose, which exists in the documents for public purpose and can in no way and in any manner deprive the inhabitants/citizens of that locality from their fundamental rights ensured by the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan for enjoying recreation from children park gardens and green belts meant for public purpose and established for the interest of public at large. The report reduced into writing and statement of the Executive Officer that children park is in a dilapidated condition proves his misconduct in discharge of his duties and obligations to keep the green flourishing with flowers and installations of play things for children and if he does not part with his duties safeguarding the existence of this park the green belts and gardens made for public purposes, he is negligent and can be proceeded for misconduct.
6. The learned A.A.-G. Present on Court's call has also agreed that settled proposition of law is that any park or land earmarked for the public purpose cannot be converted to the use of same for any type of commercial purposes. This is totally absurd proposition that in order to give substitute place the children park is offered to them, while as argued by learned counsel for the petitioner market has got ample land to be offered for temporary substitution to the shopkeepers whose shops are being demolished. It is in no way acceptable by any sane mind that in a highhanded way the children park, which is neglected by the authorities, be offered as substitute land for temporary accommodation of the sitting tenants.
7. As earlier observed, any authorised person who neglects his duties towards public purpose is guilty of misconduct. So far as other writ petitions filed by sitting tenants of the market is concerned, no one of the sitting tenants have demanded that they be given substitute place of shops on the children park, therefore, the action taken by the Administrator/Executive Officer, Cantonment Board, Multan is exclusively his own action and he has acted without lawful authority while depriving the public at large from its amenities. If the park was in a poor condition he was under the duty to restore it to its original form beautify the same by affixing pathing flowers and grass in the park but he has not done so, therefore, the instant writ petition is accepted, action for giving the plot as substituted service to the sitting tenants is hereby declared to have been passed without lawful authority and as a result of highhantiedness for usurption of the recreation right of the citizens safeguarded by the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
7-A. Since it is public interest litigation a direction is given to the respondent No,1 to remove all sorts of material on the children park, fill up the dug ground with soil, restore the boundary of children park forthwith, beautify the children park through growing green belts, flowers and affixation of pathing for children within one month from 314-2002.
8. In case of their failure any inhabitant of the area is allowed to bring into the notice of this Court the failure of the respondent to comply with the direction passed by this Court. No order as to costs.