Karoonjhar Mountains await heritage status

SHC dismayed over Sindh govt 'dragging its feet on the matter'

HYDERABAD:

As the Sindh government arguably evades notifying Karoonjhar Mountains in Tharparkar district as protected heritage, the Sindh High Court has put the Sindh Chief Secretary and Secretary Culture on notice for September 16.

The Mirpurkhas bench on Monday expressed dismay over the apparent dalliance in issuing the notification in the light of the October 16, 2023, order of the SHC Hyderabad circuit bench.

The petitioner Advocate Shankar Lal complained before the bench that at the last hearing the provincial government was given a day to issue the notification but over a week had passed with no compliance. The additional advocate general apprised the court that a meeting of Technical Committee on Sindh Culture Heritage is scheduled to meet in a few days.

According to him, the Sindh Culture Department wrote a letter to the Sindh Chief Secretary earlier this month to convene a meeting of the committee to implement the SHC's order to declare Karoonjhar as protected heritage. In a subsequent letter by Deputy Director Heritage and Administration Pirah Mangi, all the 17 members of the technical committee were advised to attend the meeting regarding the mountain.

Kuttay Ji Qabar in Qambar Shahdadkot, Old Mukhtiarkar office in Naushehro Feroze and Old Court Building in Rohri, Sukkur, are also to be declared as protected heritage. The bench, however, insisted, that the notification should be issued during the working hours on Monday.

The government's lawyer spoke to the concerned officer through phone and returned with an excuse. The judges questioned why the provincial government has been unable to declare Karoonjhar as a protected site even though around a year has passed since the SHC's order.

The October, 2023, order had ruled that the Sindh Mines and Minerals Department did not have jurisdiction over Karoonjhar in view of which it cannot issue leases for excavation or mining.

The same order had asked the government to declare the mountains as protected heritage. The Sindh government had challenged the SHC's judgement in the apex court but to no avail.