PESHAWAR — The lush green landscapes of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are rapidly surrendering to concrete as a landmark report reveals further decline in the province’s agricultural heartland. In just under a decade, the region has lost 400,000 hectares of fertile land, primarily due to the unchecked spread of illegal housing societies in KP.
A detailed briefing by the Standing Committee on Agriculture has sounded the alarm, showing that the province’s cultivated area has shriveled from 2.1 million hectares in 2017 to a mere 1.7 million hectares today. The report warns that without immediate intervention, the province’s food security is at grave risk.
Concrete Encroachment: The Peshawar Crisis
Peshawar, once famous for its orchards, is now the center of this urban sprawl. According to the committee, the capital city hosts 156 housing societies, of which a staggering 116 are illegal. Authorities have identified at least 81 of these unauthorized projects as being built directly atop prime agricultural soil.
The provincial government has already initiated a crackdown, moving to seal offices and halt construction in these zones. However, the committee noted that the scale of the illegal housing societies in KP remains a daunting challenge for local law enforcement.
The Toll on Mardan and Beyond
The crisis is not limited to the capital. In Mardan, a district-wide survey identified 135 housing societies, with 41 operating illegally. Of these, 27 have been built on precious farmland. To deter future encroachment, authorities have already slapped fines totaling 112 million PKR on violators in the district.
The spread continues across the province:
- Charsadda: 71 illegal housing societies are currently under investigation.
- Kohat: 14 unauthorized societies have been flagged for their impact on local land-use patterns.
A Call for Legislative Action
Faced with the permanent loss of 400,000 hectares of land, the Standing Committee on Agriculture has made an urgent request to the provincial government. They are demanding historic legislation to ban the conversion of agricultural land into residential schemes once and for all.
The committee is also pushing for the formation of a specialized Task Force. This body would be responsible for the real-time monitoring of land use and the prevention of further sprawl from illegal housing societies in KP. As the province struggles to balance urban demand with ecological survival, the message from the committee is clear: the soil that feeds the nation must be protected from the encroaching concrete.
