ISLAMABAD, Sept 15: Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed has termed the Margalla Hills tunnel project illegal and has appealed to the Supreme Court to take a suo moto notice in this regard.

While talking to mediapersons on Sunday, Mr Mushahid, who represents the federal capital in the Senate, strongly opposed the government’s plan to build a tunnel through the Margalla Hills to link Islamabad with Haripur.

According to media reports, the National Highway Authority and the Capital Development Authority have already been directed to start implementation of the project.

He also appealed to Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry to take suo moto notice of the project, terming it ‘illegal’ because it was being planned in violation of the laws governing the Margalla Hills National Park.

He said the decision had already provoked anger and shock among the citizens of Islamabad, and pointed out three reasons why the project should be stopped immediately.

First, Senator Mushahid said building a tunnel through the Margalla Hills would be a violation of the law which prohibited construction of any kind on the hills.

Secondly, he said, “A tunnel through the Margalla Hills would be a serious threat to the environment in Islamabad, and would cause an irreparable damage to the ecology and beauty of the capital.”

The third reason he gave was that the decision had seemingly been taken in a hurry and even the official procedure for permitting such projects had not been followed.

The senator said such projects required the approval of the Planning Commission and had to be sanctioned by the Executive Committee of National Economic Council. Furthermore, an NOC also had to be obtained from the Environment Protection Agency.

He said that since the tunnel project was a violation of the law, he would take up the issue in the forthcoming Senate session which is to convene on September 23.

Mr Mushahid said citizens had expressed their concerns and had opposed the project that would damage the capital. Therefore, he advised the government to immediately withdraw from the project given the opposition to the controversial decision.