The federal cabinet sought a timeline from the defence ministry on clearing encroachment erected by the military on Margalla Road.
As per the documents available with The Express Tribune, the cabinet had directed to remove the encroachment during its meeting on August 11. While reviewing the matter on Tuesday, the cabinet expressed its displeasure over the non-implementation of its directions.
During the meeting, Capital Development Authority (CDA) Chairman and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Chief Commissioner Amir Ali Ahmed said that the matter related to the removal of encroachment in Sectors E-8 and E-9 on the Margalla Road. He added that the matter was raised before the relevant arms of the military, including the air force and the navy. He added that the federal defence ministry has sought time to implement the cabinet’s orders.
At this, the cabinet directed the defence minister to define a timeline and ensure the removal of encroachment by that time. The CDA chief was told to submit a report.
Prime Minister Imran Khan said that no one will be allowed to infringe upon greenbelts.
Further, the CDA chairman said that the authority had recently recovered a forest area which belongs to the Punjab government but is located in the jurisdiction of the ICT administration.
With the environment department expected to be repatriated to the CDA from the Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation (IMC) soon, Ahmed assured the cabinet that the Margalla Hills will soon be cleared of all kinds of encroachment.
Despite repeated attempts, the information ministry did not answer the queries of The Express Tribune.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 21st, 2020.
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