HYDERABAD: The Mirpurkhas circuit bench of the Sindh High Court has declared that since Supreme Court has not passed any restraining orders against Oct 16, 2023, order of a division bench of SHC Hyderabad circuit, declaring Karoonjhar hills protected heritage site, the respondents “shall ensure compliance with the order”.

Hence, the division bench comprising Justices Adnanul Karim Memon and Amjad Ali Bohio directed Sindh culture department to place on record the notification declaring that Karoonjhar fell within the purview of Sindh Cultural Heritage (Preservation) Act, 1994, for further proceedings.

The Oct 16 order ruled that the provincial Mines and Mineral Department did not have jurisdiction over the hills as the “entire range of Karoonjhar Hill is one monument” under the law and it could not be divided into pieces and portions to allow excavation in some part of the range.

The court, which passed the order on Aug 12 on a miscellaneous application filed by petitioner advocate Shankar Lal, took on record compliance report submitted by Sindh’s secretary of culture and said it would hear the matter after two weeks.

Earlier, the division bench of SHC Hyderabad circuit had passed the Oct 16 order on Mr Shankar’s petition. He filed the miscellaneous application after Sindh cabinet allowed mining at Kharsar Karoonjhar mountain.

In the Aug 12 order issued on Thursday, Justice Memon incorporated the Oct 16 order and said the petitioner raised his concerns regarding granite excavation from Karoonjhar hill despite being a heritage site after Sindh cabinet recently took a decision on granite excavation from the hills.

The petitioner questioned July 11 decision of executive committee of the Special Investment Facilitation Council on Nagarparkar Granite Excavation Project and said that such decision was/is in disregard of the SHC order.

He said that Kharsar Karoonjhar was not separate from Karoonjhar and was connected with the latter for being located near Kharsar village. Located 25kms from Nagarparkar the village housed Hindu temples, Swami Hardas Puri Ashram and a graveyard for Muslims. It served as the only source of drinking water for population, he said.

He said that even then mines department granted excavation permits for this site and the decision was taken with mala fide intent. The mountain was declared a protected heritage as per SHC judgment still the Sindh government illegally permitted mining and excavation activities there.

He disclosed the Sindh government had filed an appeal in Supreme Court which had ordered that any government policy for mining in Karoonjhar hills should consider competing interests of wildlife/forest, environment and heritage. Mr Shankar urged the court to suspend implementation of the July 11 decision of the Sindh cabinet.

Sindh’s additional attorney general, Ayaz Rajpar, contended that cabinet committee had identified Kharsar area for granite excavation as per 2015 GSP report.

Be that as it may, the bench ruled, apparently the decision of this court was not yet overturned by the SC and the matter was sub judice there while according to the petitioner there was no interim order restraining this court from further proceedings.

The respondent secretary of culture filed compliance report that Karoonjhar mountain would be declared as protected heritage site upon completion of all relevant legal and procedural requirements under the law.

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2024