The controversial Margalla Tunnel project that aimed to connect Islamabad to Haripur has been shelved, CDA told the Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday.
The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has deferred the project for the time being, the authority’s counsel told a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.
Following the declaration, the SC disposed of a suo motu notice it had taken in 2007, saying that as the project is shelved, the issue no longer requires action from the court.
A CDA official told The Express Tribune that if the plan is revived in future, the authority will amend its master plan to allow for such a project. A bill proposing amendments to the master plan is already pending before the federal cabinet, the official added.
Any development on this issue will take time. “At present, the CDA has no provision to execute such a project in the [Margalla Hills National Park], where construction is prohibited,” the official said.
According to the original CDA master plan for Islamabad Capital Territory, the 12,605-hectare Margalla Hills is a national park area, as it is an extension of the Himalayan range and the northern boundary of Potohar Plateau.
Initially proposed in early 2000s, the CDA had to withdraw the plan in 2005 following severe criticism from environmentalists on the project’s likely effect on the natural beauty of the hills.
The authority revived the proposal in 2008, estimating the 500-metre-tunnel’s cost at Rs2 billion. According to the proposed plan, the tunnel would link the federal capital with Haripur in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
The tunnel would have linked some areas of Hazara Division with Islamabad, which would have allowed the government to extend the territorial limits of Islamabad.
Reaction and concern for Margalla Hills
Helga Ahmad, an environmentalist, said she was happy to hear that the project had been shelved. She said that the CDA should not initiate any project that can damage the environment.
Isa Daudpota also opposed the idea of the tunnel.
Filmmaker and activist Fauzia Minallah said construction of the tunnel would bring “swarms of people” to the area, causing irreparable damage to the natural beauty of Margalla Hills.
She said that encroachment and illegal activities are underway in the hills, which need the attention of the SC and non-governmental organisations working on environmental issues.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 30th, 2012.
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