Environmental Law in Pakistan - IUCN

6.1.1.6 Land Control(Karachi Division) Act1952This law was enacted at the time that Karachi was the federalcapital and now operates as a provincial statute. It allows theprovincial government to declare any part of Karachi to be acontrolled area (Section 3) where construction and rebuilding areprohibited without prior permission from the provincial government(Section 5). The government is empowered to evict persons found“unauthorisedly occupying or wrongfully in possession” of land orbuildings in controlled areas (Section 11). The power to make ruleshas been delegated to the provincial government (Section 20).Although there are no specific provisions for land control forconservation purposes, that possibility is not excluded. Followingthe promulgation of the Sindh Local Government Ordinance 2001,certain powers related to land have been devolved to the localgovernment. The status and extent of the provincial government’spowers under the 1952 act remain to be clarified.6.1.1.7 Land AcquisitionAct 1894This law regulates the acquisition of land for public purposes andprovides for compensation in cash, in the form of an alternativeland allocation, or through another type of equitable arrangement(Section 31). This is the principal statute governing the acquisitionof privately owned land for public purposes. In addition, the lawallows for the “temporary occupation and use” of waste or arableland for a maximum period of three years (Section 35).The law provides for a preliminary enquiry to survey land andassess its suitability, allowing government officers to bore into thesubsoil, dig trenches, and cut down or clear standing crops and“jungle” areas (Section 4). It lays down procedures for hearingobjections that may be raised to proposed acquisition (Section 5A).Provincial governments administer the land acquisition procedure.Other powers under this act, including the power to make rules, arealso delegated to provincial governments.6.1.2 AgricultureAgriculture is not included in either of the legislative lists and is therefore a provincial subject. Nogeneral legislation exists to establish a framework governing agricultural activities, or toimplement a national agricultural policy. Federal laws in the agriculture sector regulate inputssuch as pesticides and fertilisers, along with agriculture-related activities such as processing,marketing and transportation. The law does not create policy guidelines for providing credit tosupport the agriculture sector, or prescribe measures to mitigate the environmental impact ofagricultural inputs and practices. Nor do laws governing this sector create a system ofclassification or labelling for agricultural chemicals to indicate their contents and potential impacton natural resources.06Processes andInstitutions46EnvironmentalLaw in PakistanFederal