ISLAMABAD: Last year the Supreme Court (SC) had banned stone crushing at the Margalla Hills. While the apex court’s orders were largely followed as no stone crushing was being done at the hills, these mountains are still being quarried to excavate soil used for levelling ground for developing new dwellings.

Technically, no stone crushing was being carried out in the area but the mountains were reportedly being dug using heavy machinery to obtain soil. This soil was loaded on to trolleys to transport it to Taxila for levelling.

During a visit by Bol News to Margalla Chowk, Taxila where some time ago large portions of the Margalla Hills were levelled to the ground due to stone crushing, it was revealed that the hills were still being quarried to take out soil and this material was used for developing a housing project.

This part of the Margallas was basically a buffer zone between the mountain range of the capital territory and Taxila which was part of Rawalpindi Division.

Although this work was being done on a small scale but still the mountains were at the receiving end as they were vanishing from the earth and they were being levelled at par with GT Road.

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Heavy boulders which were not fit for levelling ground were taken to Hassan Abdal for stone-crushing purposes, Bol News has learnt. This excavation was being done in the mountains which were situated near Nicolson Monument in Taxila.

Last year in March, the SC had banned stone crushing at Margalla Hills with immediate effect and had directed the governments of Punjab as well as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to take speedy measures against stone crushing.

A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Sajjad Ali Shah heard the suo moto case regarding environmental pollution in Islamabad’s Sector I-9 industrial area.

The court also directed to ensure tree plantation at the areas affected by stone crushing at the Margallas.

Sources privy to the matter said quarrying is not being carried at the mountain range which falls in the jurisdiction of Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).

The Margalla Hills is a range within the Margalla Hills National Park on the northern edge of ICT which was south of Haripur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). It is part of the Himalayan foothills.

Estimates show the Margalla range had an area of 12,605 hectares. This range hosts many valleys and some high mountains.

Barren mountains

After the directives of the apex court, the stone crushing was stopped at the mountain range but the damage which had already been done was beyond any repair.

Sharply cut hills present a gloomy look without any plantation or greenery on them. A few patches which could not be excavated hold some plantation but most of the hills had been left devoid of greenery.

Moreover, despite a ban on stone crushing at the Margallas, the heavy machinery which was earlier used for stone crushing had not been removed from the site.

As soon as one enters the spot where the mountains earlier faced stone crushing, a dust cloud ‘welcomes’ motorists. The stone-crushing impact is too vast in environmental terms and it would continue to impact the residents and the passer-by for many years to come.

The stone crushing at Margalla Hills was not a new activity. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had banned it in 2010 as well and there was a need to restore vegetation or plantation on the affected parts of the range.

However, this could not be done so far and these affected mountains still present a barren look which was not only harmful for the environment but it had also badly affected wildlife in the area.

Sources added that there was no stone crushing in the limits of ICT but quarrying was being done in the limits of Punjab and KP at Margalla Hills, which was as harmful as the stone crushing.

This quarrying business was done to develop housing societies either to level ground or to acquire more land for these projects.

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Moreover, in Islamabad at the back of the Margalla Hills, the area which is part of KP is being developed for entertainment purposes. Likewise, a little far from Monal restaurant, some residential apartments were reportedly also being constructed.

There was also a cement factory at Sangjani whose lease was approved by the Capital Development Authority for many years. This factory conducted quarry works somewhere else and brought the material to the Sangjani area for making cement out of it.