Islamabad: scared stiff of the supreme court, the capital development authority (cda) has stopped a cement factory from quarrying limestone in the protected margalla hills national park (mhnp) area.
“on march 17, cda, with the assistance of ict (islamabad capital territory) police launched a massive operation and stopped ongoing quarrying by the fecto cement factory in mhnp area and has also expelled all their machinery and personnel from the quarrying area,” reported the civic body to a three-judge bench of the court, headed by justice jawwad s. Khawaja, hearing an environment protection petition, on wednesday.
Cda counsel s. A. Rehman submitted the report in compliance with the orders the bench issued to cda chairman maroof afzal in person on tuesday.
“open pit mining is the most devastating form of environmental degradation,” observed justice khawaja.
As it set the next hearing for thursday, the bench did not look amused by the cda report, which put the blame for the unlawful quarrying concession on others.
It explained that the 30-year limestone mining lease to fecto expired on june 7, 2012 but was extended by the director industries and mineral development ict and the office of chief commissioner of islamabad for another 18 years. Of the leased area, 1312.69 acres fall in mhnp.
And the extension in the lease, under the pakistan mining concession rules 1960, was granted in consideration of the no-objection certificate issued by the pakistan environmental protection agency (pepa) islamabad, the report said.