At stake: The project aims to construct a tunnel through the Margalla Hills as well as development of a twin capital on the other side of the peaks. Photo: File
ISLAMABAD:
The Supreme Court on Friday put officials of two provinces, highways and capital’s civic agency on notice in a suo motu case involving a mega economic and highway project that could affect the ecosystem of the federal capital.
A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry issued notices to chief secretaries of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, chairmen of National Highway Authority (NHA) and Capital Development Authority (CDA), seeking their stance on the issue.
The court issued these directives while hearing a petition filed by concerned citizens against the “New Islamabad” and Margalla Hills tunnel projects.
The apex court has been moved by President Margalla Hill Society (MHS) Roedad Khan and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) parliamentarian Mushahid Hussain, who maintained that the proposed project, if carried out, would have serious environmental implications on the twin cities.
During the proceeding, the PML-Q senator said that the prime minister has resurrected the tunnel project, which had been floated by former president Pervez Musharraf in 2008, but was later shelved. On March 29, 2012, when the case related to the tunnel project was taken up by the Supreme Court, the CDA officials had informed the court that the project had been shelved for the time being.
The chief justice said the authorities denied that the project was under consideration, but reports in the media indicated otherwise. He asked the deputy attorney-general (DAG) to inform the court about the actual position of the federal government.
“It seems that construction in the national park area has started again after our previous verdict,” the chief justice observed. DAG Attique Shah informed the court that he received the notice on Thursday and sought time to file a reply.
Senator Hussain informed the court that an agreement had already been reached between the Punjab and K-P governments to carry out their part of the project. The PML-Q leader said that the Punjab government under section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act had issued a notification to acquire 25,000 acres for the purpose.
According to him, the project in the capital would be awarded to the Pakistan Avenue Development Company, a subsidiary department of the CDA. He said that he had also submitted an adjournment motion in the Senate against the project.
MHS president contended that the NHA had been working on the project without haste and as part of the project the Margalla Hills would have to be partially cut through for the tunnel’s construction. “We’re looking towards the Supreme Court for issuance of orders to stop the project in the larger interest of the residents of this city,” he maintained.
CDA counsel Afnan Kundi expressed his ignorance about the proposed project, saying the civic agency had no knowledge of undertaking such a project. “It is regrettable that the CDA counsel doesn’t know about such a huge project,” remarked Justice Jawwad S Khawaja.
The court adjourned the hearing of the case till October 1.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 28th, 2013.
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After hearing the sad news of earth quake in Quetta and very sad news of bomb blast in peshawar, our primminster should have left for pakistan and should have cut short his visit to U.S.A.After his speach there is no reason staying in America and waisting poor country,s money