Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Tuesday took suo motu notice of the ongoing construction of Islamabad Chalets Housing Scheme because of environmental concerns.
He ordered registration of a petition about the issue under Article 184 (3) of the Constitution and ordered all concerned parties to appear before the court on October 13.
The order was issued on the basis of a report prepared by Justice Javed Iqbal about the environmental implications of the project in the light of articles published in the press.
The parties were asked to appear and explain as to why, pending a decision on the petition, an interim order may not be passed restraining any further construction activity on the site or any related work in the area.
Notices have been issued to the Chief Secretary NWFP, the Chairman of Capital Development Authority, Director General of Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency, and the owners and contractors of the project as well as to the NWFP Advocate General and the Federal Attorney General.
Justice Iqbal's report says the Margalla Hills National Park was an important ecological preserve and an integral part of Islamabad and lent Capital the unique characteristic of its beautiful environment. The housing scheme known as 'Islamabad Chalets' was only a few kilometers from the boundary of this Park, in Haripur District.
Islamabad Chalets on Margalla Hills is the first housing scheme and likely to open the way for more such schemes, seriously, threatening environment of the area due to increase in traffic on already congested narrow road and adding to noise pollution and waste generation. The site of the scheme falls in the catchment area of Khanpur Dam, which is one of the main sources of water supply to Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
The development will cause damage to the water reservoir through heavy flow of silt, sewer and other pollutants, the report says. This will not only cause a speedy silting of Khanpur Dam but also deteriorate the water quality, which would result in health hazards to the citizens of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
It is also clear that there will be no access to this housing scheme from Islamabad except a road, which goes through Margalla Hills National Park, thereby directly impacting the environment of this protected area. Moreover, the Government of NWFP confirmed to the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency that neither any permission nor NOC was granted for the Chalets and that the project would have serious trans-province impacts.
Based on that the EPA issued notices to the owners of related constructing parties that appeared in the press also. Subsequently, the EPA approved Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) of the project and issued an NOC, the basis of which "is unlawful because the conditions imposed is eyewash and unrealistic that can never be complied with," the report says.
This NOC has been issued without having carried out an Environmental Impact Assessment having under section 2(xi) read with section 12 of the Pakistan Environmental Protection, Act, 1997 (PEPA), the report adds.
Even otherwise and even in the absence of any statutory safeguards, the construction of a housing scheme in the area could not have been permitted as it is in derogation of the Fundamental Rights guaranteed to the citizens by the Constitution.
The report underlines the destruction caused by recent earthquake is a reminder, if one was needed, that development and construction in disregard of environmental concerns could wreak havoc and cause immense loss of life and property.