ISLAMABAD: The Margallah Hills Society has appealed to the prime minister not to lift the ban on land transfers in Zone III, following rumours that the government is considering doing exactly that.

In a letter available with Dawn, the society’s president Roedad Khan said that he has learned that the prime minister has ordered the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration to lift the ban on private land transfers in Zone III of the capital.

The letter stated that Zone III “comprises approximately 50,393 acres of environmentally sensitive and protected areas including the Margallah Hills National Park (MHNP), Shah Allah Ditta, Chontra, Lakhwal, Banigala, Saidpur, Malpur, Bhara Kahu, Kot Hathial and Sangjani.”

It added: “Area was declared a national park on 27th April 1980, under section 21(1) of the Islamabad Wildlife (Protection, Conservation and Management) Ordinance, 1979 being a wildlife sanctuary. The park is the last repository for the indigenous flora and fauna of the Himalayan foothills and the last refuge for the birds and animals that inhabit its forests.”

The letter said that this status “strictly prohibits any commercial activity and settlement in the area”.

“Despite the clear legislative prohibition, hotels, rest houses, apartments, clubs (with no mandatory Environmental Impact Assessment from Pak-EPA coupled with traffic, garbage, frequent fires, growing population and waste water concerns) are mushrooming at the heart of the park.

“This is resulting in degradation of the natural habitat, biodiversity and scenic beauty. The roadside lights, which are not switched off till midnight, restrict the movement of the animals and disturb their nightlife patterns,” letter added.

Mr Khan wrote that Shakarparian is also a part of the MHNP. A landmark judgement passed the Supreme Court on a petition he filed observed that “admittedly the land in question [Shakarparian] forms part of the national park”.

Mr Khan was also appointed to a committee constituted to restore the land, where the Pakistan Cricket Board felled trees and bushes and “changed the character of the national park”, to its “original position”.

The committee, which also included the Capital Development Authority (CDA) chairman and the director general of the Environmental Protection Agency, only met once.

The letter added that the national park, within a two kilometre distance of the highest water mark of Rawal Lake “has disappeared in thin air, unsung and unwept.”

A resident of Zone III, Mohammad Naeem, told Dawn that local residents have been trying to have the ban – which was imposed last year – lifted.

“We have our private land and the CDA or the ICT administration have not acquired it, so it is unfair to stop the owners of the land from transferring their land. Unfortunately we are poor, so no one is willing to listen to our voice. I just want to ask what would happen if Mr Roedad Khan and other residents of the F and E sectors were stopped from selling their houses,” he said.

He said the government is considering the matter because local residents have asked public representatives to lift the ban.

An ICT administration representative who asked not to be named said there was no legal restriction on land transfers, which was why the ICT had made an administrative decision last year to ban the transfer of land.

“However, local owners of the land are worried and they keep pushing the politicians that the ban should be lifted. In addition, we have not acquired the land so legally we cannot stop people from selling their land,” he said.

“Allowing people to transfer their land is under consideration because of the pressure from locals, who are voters of various political parties. But there will be a ban on construction. We have also started a campaign against encroachments and will continue it,” he added.

Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2019