Margalla Hills restaurants: SC directs Wildlife Board to take over eateries in detailed verdict

• CJP Isa's detailed order directs demolition of restaurants.
• Wildlife Management Board to decide on best use of land: SC.
• Apex court calls for assessment of environmental damage. 
  

Issuing its detailed verdict in the Margalla Hills case, the Supreme Court directed the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board to take over the eateries on September 11 with the help of police and the Capital Development Authority (CDA).

"On 11 September 2024, the Wildlife Board will take over the possession of the said restaurants with the full assistance of CDA and the Islamabad Capital Territory Police, and the entrances to said area shall be barricaded," read the 25-page judgment penned by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa.

The judgement comes after the apex court on June 11 had ordered the closure of Monal Restaurant along with other eateries located in the Margalla Hills National Park (MHPN).

The order of the three-member bench, comprising the CJP, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan, came in response to in response to a March 11 court order in which it had sought the complete record of the land ownership of the restaurant.

The court had then also directed all other restaurants in the National Park including Monal to relocate within the three-month period.

In its remarks, the SC said that its aim is to ensure the protection of the National Park. It added that apart from National Park, the unnecessary notices issued to all other restaurants are terminated.

Stressing that it was only focusing on the National Park, the court said: "All the leases granted to restaurants located in National Park are declared null and void."

In his detailed judgement today which upheld the Islamabad High Court's then-judge Athar Minallah's ruling, CJP Isa said that the restaurants were to be demolished with minimal disturbance to the wildlife and by avoiding damage to the trees of the National Park.

The top court's order also states that the Wildlife Board will determine how best to utilise the mountain ridge where the eateries were located and it may consult experts and environmentalists to examine whether the foundations of the said structures should also be removed or the same be left in and used to make an artificial lake to collect rainwater which can be used to put out fires that erupt in the National Park. 

"Under no circumstances should the building be left abandoned/derelict nor leave any debris on the said site. Every effort should be made to ensure that the said land again becomes an integral part of the National Park," said the verdict.

Furthermore, directing the defence secretary to ensure the enforcement of existing laws, the SC has also ordered the CDA chairman to provide guidance to the ministry in this regard.

Additionally, the Ministry of Climate Change secretary and Environmental Protection director general have been ordered to conduct a survey of buildings in the area.

The order also calls for an assessment of environmental damage and measures that are necessary to prevent further environmental degradation.