ISLAMABAD, Nov 19: While housing developers and rich individuals may only be scheming or dreaming to penetrate the protected National Park Area (NPA) in the foothills of Margalla, the Pakistan Navy has quietly established its golf course in the area, Dawn has learnt.

The golf course has been laid over the vast stretch of land between the Naval Complex in Sector E-8 and the Margalla Hills, with the approval of Capital Development Authority (CDA). The PN went for the new facility after losing control of Islamabad Golf Club at Park Road.

Zone III of Islamabad covering more than 50,000 acres from Sangjani to Shahdra was declared national park in the early 1960s by then President Gen Ayub Kha. Construction activity of any sort was forbidden in the park area. However, the city managers, who have ignored the construction of the golf course, are now formulating new rules to change the status of the area and allow construction activities there.

Director General Pakistan Environment Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) Asif Shuja said the laws only allowed recreational activities in NPA, not a fully-fledged golf course.

He said the agency had stopped the PN from cutting trees at the site of the golf course last year.

According to a senior official in the CDA planning wing, the golf course had been constructed on the authority's land which fell in Zone-III.

The official, who did not want to be named, said as the civic body had no access to its own land after construction of the Naval Complex, it had allowed the PN to utilise the land - but not for any construction activity.

In fact, CDA's land lies beyond the Naval Complex between Pakistan Air Force (E-9) and the land reserved for the new General Headquarters (E-10 and D-11). The official said the Margalla Hills was also under the use of the two forces. “It is because of these reasons that the CDA has no direct access to the land, and secondly, nobody else can be allowed to get this land because of the security of the three services headquarters.”

He said the CDA was charging nothing from PN for the land. “If we charge even a single penny it would be quite difficult for us to stop it from raising a building,” the official said.

When contacted, spokesman for PN said the golf course was constructed with the approval of CDA and it has not harmed the status of NPA. “As the land is between the Naval Complex and mountains, we took it over to meet our security concerns,” he said.The official agreed that PN had been paying nothing to the CDA for using the land. “We have maintained the green image of Islamabad by establishing the golf course and no building is constructed there,” the spokesman said.

He said the golf course was not being used for commercial purpose as only officers of PN were allowed to play there.

He agreed that a number of trees were axed when the golf course was being established. “These were paper mulberry which the CDA had asked us to cut as they caused pollen allergy in the city,” he added.

It has been learnt that construction activities are rising in Zone-III not only by individuals but also real estate builders after the CDA started amending the rules apparently to accommodate some bigwigs.

An illegal housing scheme is also being developed on the Margalla without any check from the CDA.

Sources in the CDA said the authority's bosses were tight-lipped on the issue because of involvement of some local politicians.

It has also been learnt that the restriction on housing in Zone-III is being relaxed through amendments to NPA rules with the consent of Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani. A three-member committee comprising Law Minister Babar Awan, Interior Minister Rehman Malik and Housing Minister Rehmatullah Kakar has been formed to finalise the rules.

Real estate experts say once the new rules are enforced in the zone, the worth of the land would run into billions of rupees.