Staying put: De-Fecto lord of the hills

Over 100 stone crushers have bared Margallas; cement factory stay order another hurdle.

ISLAMABAD:

The capital’s civic agency and city administration have once again promised to rid the Margalla Hills National Park (MHNP) of stone crushing units “very soon.”

But there is a catch.

The capital’s district and civic authorities said they cannot stop a cement factory — which is quarrying in the MHNP with a valid ICT-issued lease — at this time because of a legal hurdle.

Capital Development Authority (CDA) and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Administration officials claimed Fecto cement’s activity is a sub-judice matter, despite an October 2013 Supreme Court order to stop all construction and quarrying activities in the hills.

Due to the legal confusion around the issue, the Senate sub-committee on environment decided to consult the Law Ministry about the apparent violation of the apex court’s order.

The committee, led by its convener, Senator Mushahid Hussain, reached the decision during a workshop-cum-meeting at the Pakistan Institute of Parliamentary Services on Monday.

ICT Director for Labour and Industries Bashir Ahmad that the city administration, the CDA and the Punjab government have decided in principle to evict stone crushing units.

Stone crushing is not allowed in the MHNP, according to the Islamabad Wildlife Ordinance 1979. The reality, however, is that over the past two decades, around two dozen crushing units in the ICT territory and about 100 more on the Rawalpindi side of the MHNP have denuded the lush hills.

“We are going to launch a joint operation with the CDA and the Punjab government against stone crushers very soon,” Ahmad said on behalf of the ICT on Monday, adding that the Punjab government has agreed to relocate the stone crushers to alternative sites in Chakwal, Khushab, Mianwali and Attock.

He confirmed that the ICT has not cancelled Fecto’s lease because, just as the cement factory survived a government crackdown against stone crushers in 1994, it had pre-empted eviction by moving the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

According to CDA Environment Director Muhammad Irshad, Fecto’s case has been pending in the IHC since 2009.

In its case, Fecto has disputed the official notification of the national park area and claimed its operations are being run on private land. In the interim, the cement factory, which got its lease renewed by the ICT in 2011, also got a stay order for its operations.

“The CDA legal team has told us that the stay would have to be vacated before we can evict the cement factory,” the CDA director said.

Ahmad said Islamabad’s Chief Commissioner has given directions to the Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) to cut power supply to the stone crushers, but IESCO is reluctant to follow the order because the electricity connections themselves are legal.

From the officials’ testimonies, it was obvious that little or no meaningful action against stone crushers had taken place in the month that has passed since the sub-committee took notice of the issue.

However, Senator Hussain told the officials that “violations of environmental laws will no longer be tolerated.”

Meanwhile, a manual to help journalists report better on issues related to climate change was also launched.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 11^th, 2014.