Suspending power supply to the over 240 stone crushers rapidly eating up Margalla Hills is the best and easiest solution to stop quarrying in the 10km area falling in the territorial limits of the federal capital and the Punjab (Taxila).

But the question here is if these stone crushers can be turned idle with just pressing a power supply button, then why and on whose permission they were provided with electricity in the first place? According to some information, it was the Capital Development Authority (CDA) who had issued no-objection certificates (NOCs) to the stone crushers located in the periphery of Islamabad to get power connections from Iesco. The Pakistan Environment Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) has served notices on the stone crushers and it seems to be a real test for the agency and other departments to stop quarrying on the Margallas this time.

All the departments concerned, including Pak-EPA, CDA, ICT administration and Iesco seem to be more committed to stopping the practice because of a serious note taken by the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

If these departments are determined in a real manner to stop the quarrying then they can do it without using the police and other security departments. They would have to just sever their power connections and if the owners use some other means to run their machines (through power generators), then the CDA and the local administrations, both in Islamabad and Punjab, should confiscate their equipment.

Issuing notices to the owners of stone crushers, Pak-EPA has also requested Iesco to suspend power supply to them. Now the ball is in the court of Iesco and one has to wait and see how the company reacts.

The much-awaited action against quarrying is being taken for the first time on the basis of environment degradation and it is believed that the powerful owners would not be able to escape punishment this time.

Earlier, abortive actions were taken against the plants on the basis of expiry of leases and for cutting the hills, but this time Pak-EPA has initiated the move under Section 16 of Environment Protection Ordinance to stop air pollution caused by the crushers.

“We have served Environment Protection Order (final notice) on the owners of stone crushers and now the relevant local administrations and other departments would be liable to take action,” said Pak-EPA Director Environment Asadullah Faiz.

The action against massive quarrying is being taken on the basis of a fresh survey/monitoring report which said the level of environment pollution in the affected area was 20,000 metric grams per cubic metre. The alarming or dangerous stage starts from 500 metric grams per cubic metre.

Many attempts had been made in the past to remove stone crushers from their present locations, especially from the territorial limits of Islamabad, but all remained futile because of strong lobby supporting the practice, vested interests of authorities concerned and litigation.

It has been learnt that the provincial government of Punjab was reluctant to take action against quarrying in the Margalla Hills despite strict directives by President Asif Ali Zardari to all departments concerned to stop the practice.

Representatives of the Punjab government in a recent meeting at the environment ministry were of the view that the provincial government was generating a revenue of billions of rupees from the owners of stone crushing plants and putting an immediate ban on them would adversely affect infrastructure development activities in the province. A committee formed on the directive of President Zardari last year to address the issue also failed to meet the task.

Officials said instead of taking prompt action against stone crushers, Punjab insisted that the federal government should establish at least one km-long buffer zone between the peripheral limits of Islamabad and Taxila where quarrying should be banned.

Big entrepreneurs like Fecto Cement and Pakistan Railways are also involved in cutting of hills and polluting the environment.

One of the main attractions in the business of stone crushing at Margalla Hills is that agencies like National Highway Authority (NHA), CDA, City District Government Rawalpindi and Pak-PWD have made it mandatory for their contractors to only use the gravels of Margalla Hills in the construction projects. The Margalla range mainly comprises sandstones and shale which are very suitable for construction of buildings and bridges, a study carried out by the environment ministry said.