Tunnel project to resume : Govt may despoil Margalla Hills
CDA chairman asked by prime minister to start work on $12 billion project
ISLAMABAD: Despite rules that prohibit any construction work at the Margalla Hills, the Capital Development Authority (CDA), on the directions of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, has once again taken up the controversial Margalla Tunnel project.
According to sources, the CDA chairman had been asked by the prime minister to work on a $12 billion project on war footings.
The CDA is currently working day and night to complete the plans, which, according to the sources, will be announced by the prime minister himself in the next few weeks.
This is not the first effort to build a tunnel at Margalla Hills. A similar plan was charted by the CDA on the directions of former president Pervez Musharraf but was immediately taken down after the Supreme Court took a suo motu notice on the plea of the Margalla Hills Society.
In March 2012, the Supreme Court disposed of the matter when Chaudhry Ramzan, a former legal adviser to the CDA, informed the court that the project had been deferred.
The hills are a national park area since they are an extension of the Himalayan range and the northern boundary of the Pothohar Plateau. The area consists of 12,605 hectares of sub-Himalayan forest vegetation.
The project was also hugely criticised by environmentalists who believe that building a tunnel at Margalla Hills will result in crowds of people thronging the area, causing damage to the natural beauty of the hills.
According to environmentalists, there are 82 bird species in the area, including the Griffon vulture, Laggar falcon, Peregrine falcon, Kestrel, Indian sparrow hawk, Egyptian vulture and White-cheeked bulbul. Many reptiles can also be found in the area, including Russell’s viper, Indian cobra and Saw-scaled viper. Besides, dozens of species of trees and around 50 varieties of grass grow at Margalla Hills. The project is not the first to be proposed in the area. A few years ago, local officials established a chairlift from the Margalla foothills to Makhiala Peak (Pir Sohawa). The project was later abandoned because of security problems.
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Damn it.