HYDERABAD: The Mirpurkhas bench of the Sindh High Court has directed secretary of heritage and culture to submit a compliance report of its May 7 order whereby he was instructed to declare “Karoonjhar mountain as heritage property to save the mountain and submit notification” to the court.
A division bench comprising Justices Adnanul Karim Memon and Amjad Ali Bohio fixed the case for further hearing on Aug 12. On May 7, the court had said in the case of non-compliance that the secretary “shall appear before the court along with relevant record”.
Shankar Lal advocate filed a miscellaneous application in the court in his main petition which was decided by a division bench of SHC Hyderabad circuit on Oct 19, 2023. The petitioner advocate filed fresh plea under section 151 of Civil Procedure Code (CPC) in view of recent decision of granite excavation from the hills by Sindh cabinet.
A division bench of SHC Hyderabad circuit comprising Justices Mohammad Shafi Siddiqui and Arshad Hussain Khan in October had ordered in 2023 conservation of Karoonjhar hills as per international guidelines and declared that “entire range of Karoonjhar Hill is one monument” under law and cannot be divided into pieces and portions to make some part of it (range) available for prohibited excavation.
This bench had decided two identical petitions filed by Munawar Ali Sagar and others in 2021 and Shanker Lal in 2023 on the issue of Karoonjhar hills.
After SHC Mirpurkhas circuit was established, the matter was transferred there in which Shankar filed fresh plea in the wake of a decision on excavation in “Kharsar Karoonjhar” mountain.
He questioned the July 11 decision of executive committee of SIFC (Special Investment Facilitation Council) on Nagarparkar Granite Excavation Project and said the decision was in disregard of judgement dated Oct 16, 2023, which was announced on Oct 19 by SHC Hyderabad circuit bench in the instant petition wherein court, in para-28 (c) of order, declared that “entire Karoonjhar hills are one monument” under the law and could not be divided into pieces and portions for any excavation.
He said that Kharsar Karoonjhar was not separate from Karoonjhar and was connected with the latter for being located near Kharsar village. Kharsar Karoonjhar site, located just 25 kms from Nagarparkar near Kharsar village stood at a height of over 400ft.
He stated that this mountain housed temples of Hindu community, Swami Hardas Puri Ashram and a graveyard for Muslims and maintained that Kharsar Karoonjhar served as the only source of drinking water for local population. It makes the mountain crucial for survival and wellbeing of local communities.
Despite this, the mines department granted excavation permits for Kharsar Karoonjhar site and the decision was made with mala fide intent and without proper consideration of the area’s cultural, ecological and social significance, he lamented.
He said that Kharsar Karoonjhar was declared as protected heritage as per judgment of this court but Sindh government illegally permitted mining and excavation activities in the mountain subject to clearances from forest and wildlife department.
He said mining activities in Karoonjhar range were known to have severe environmental repercussions including soil erosion, loss of biodiversity and disruption of natural habitats.
He said that these activities not only degraded landscape but jeopardised long term sustainability of the region’s natural resources. Hence, he prayed the court to suspend further implementation of the cabinet decision in the light of SHC decision on Karoonjhar mountain range.
Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2024