ISLAMABAD: The Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) has informed the federal government that the procurement of the latest satellite imagery of the Margalla Hills from foreign agencies would cost Euro 10 (Rs1,289) per square kilometre.

The information was submitted to the Supreme Court by the federal government through Additional Attorney General Mohammad Waqar Rana. The court will take up a suo motu case on Wednesday regarding the continued quarrying and cutting of trees in the Margalla Hills.

During the last hearing on June 29, the apex court had ordered the federal government to furnish the satellite imagery of the Margalla Hills National Park for the year 2013 and 2016 to determine how much area had been denuded due to the continued blasting, stone crushing and quarrying.

The attention of the court was drawn towards the quarrying of the hills by a mafia as well as cement factories through a May 19 report on a private television channel.

The court took exception to the fact that the stone crushers were blasting and denuding the Margalla Hills despite the expiry of their lease period. On the other hand, the government departments responsible for extending or rejecting their lease were not taking any action.

According to reports, the total area of Margalla reserved forest is 17,111 acres. After the establishment of Islamabad as the capital city, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) approached the then provincial government of West Pakistan for the transfer of the management of these reserve forests. As a result, 12,511 acres forest area (11,870 acres Margalla reserve forest and 641 acres Banni Gala reserve forest) was leased out to the CDA in 1961. An agreement was also signed between the secretary agriculture West Pakistan and the horticulture directorate of the CDA in 1966. The rest of the 4,600 acres area is under the control of the Punjab forest department.

In the fresh report, the office of the attorney general said Suparco had communicated to it that the satellite images of the Margalla Hills for the year 2013 had been procured and were available in its archives. But the satellite image for the year 2016 has to be obtained from abroad after payment depending upon the size of the area in question. The fee will be charged at the rate of Euro10 per square kilometre, the report said.

The communication between the AG office and Suparco also stated that the Supreme Court order had not mentioned the precise coordinates but only said the park be encapsulated in the imagery in its entirety. Therefore, the letter suggested, it would rely on the Suparco judgment in deciding the coordinates of the imagery.

For arranging the requisite funds, the report said, a letter had been written to the law ministry.

Meanwhile, the Punjab government opposed an application moved by the stone crushers’ welfare association to include them as a party in the case. The department stated that the petitioners had not provided the details of their business to show whether their activities were lawful or not.

In its application, the association had stated that under the garb of the June 3, 2016 order, the authorities had stopped the lawful business of the stone crushers. The stone crushers claimed that they were the leaseholders and owners and were lawfully carrying out the stone crushing business in accordance with the law in the Margalla Hills National Park and the buffer zone.

But the Punjab government said the business of the applicants was not lawful because they neither had licences for blasting the mountains nor were granted a mining lease.

Published in Dawn, July 20th, 2016