Minister, council lose round one
The High Court of Malawi has stopped construction of a three-storey structure in Blantyre City meant for residential and commercial purposes for allegedly being put up on land designated for wetland.
The order comes after a Blantyre resident Tabi Kowet dragged the Minister of Lands and Blantyre City Council (BCC) to court over the allocation of the land to businessperson Karamat Ullah Chaundry to develop it.
High Court Judge Mandala Mambulasa has since granted Kowet permission to start judicial review proceedings challenging the decisions made by the minister and the council.
The disputed land under judicial review case number 39 of 2023 is situated in Mount Pleasant near Malawi Blood Transfusion Service (MBTS).
In his order, the judge said “the impugned decision” to grant Chaundry development permission over plot number BC 1288 be stayed until the court makes a further order.
The order also blocks Chaundry from undertaking any further developments on the said plot until “the determination of the substantive matter herein”.
Through private practice lawyer Felix Tandwe, Kowet argues in his sworn statement the space on which the plot has been created is a wetland which, according to Section 48 of the Environment Management Act, no person is supposed to reclaim or erect, alter or place any structure on, under or over, excavate, drill, tunnel or disturb without the written approval of the Malawi Environmental Protection Authority (Mepa).
He further argues that being a wetland, the minister could not create a plot for residential purposes without Mepa’s written authority and without carrying out an investigation, including an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment under the Act.
According to Kowet’s affidavit, in considering Chaundry’s application for development permission, BCC was obliged under Section 50(1) of the Physical Planning Act to take into account a number of issues which it did not.
These include the Blantyre District Physical Plan or the local physical development plan applicable to the land and also the foreseeable impact of the proposed development on the natural or built environment and on adjacent uses of the land.
In an interview yesterday, Tandwe said before taking the matter to court, Kowet wrote BCC, lodging a complaint on why the alleged wetland was being developed for residential and commercial purposes but never got any response.
“So as far as we know, the prescribed processes were not followed. Otherwise, they would not have failed to indicate that in response to Kowet’s letter. The silence is suspicious as to whether the prescribed procedures were followed,” he said.
Tandwe said the court will now proceed to hear the judicial review matter on a date to be communicated after presentations on behalf of the minister, BCC and Chaundry regarding the issues raised by Kowet.
Wetlands are unique ecosystems characterised by being flooded or saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally and offer numerous benefits, including natural water quality improvement, recreational opportunities, and access to natural resources.
