August 27, 2024

Tharparkar Department on the issue regarding permission for mining of granite at Kharsar site in Karunjhar mountain range of K forest of life Sindh A review committee consisting of experts has unanimously opposed granite mining.

The committee formed on the instructions of the Sindh Cabinet said that granite mining cannot be done in any part of Karunjhar, which has been declared as a ‘safe haven of wildlife’.

The members unanimously referred to the decision of the Sindh High Court in the meeting of the committee and said that the Karunjhar mountain range is not divided into parts, but all parts are one and this range has been designated as a ‘safe haven for wildlife’ by the wildlife department. ‘ has been declared.

As the run-off is part of some wildlife sanctuaries and the entire area is globally protected under the Ramsar Convention, no mining can take place there.

Granite has been quarried from Karunjhar mountain since 1979, but in 2006, during the regime of former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, granite extraction accelerated after the construction of the road to Thar and especially to Nagarpakar.

The Sindh High Court has twice ruled against the extraction of granite from Karunjhar.

People from across Sindh, including Thar, have been protesting against the quarrying of colored stones from Karunjhar hill for the past several years. Along with holding rallies in many cities for the protection of Karunjhar, the name ‘Save Karunjhar’ has also been the top trend on social media several times.

According to the committee, this mountain range is a habitat for endangered species of plants, animals, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians (animals that can live in land and water) and invertebrates. Therefore, no granite mining can be done in any part of this mountain range.

In its recommendations, the review committee said that ‘bio-tourism’ or wildlife observation tourism should be started to derive economic benefits from the area along with full protection.

Karunjhar is a mountain range consisting of red granite stones, which looks red, but according to the local people, apart from white and black stones, stones of five colors are found here.

These colorful granite stones are used in house tiles and construction. The stone from here is more valuable than the granite from other parts of Pakistan.

Poems were also written by the local poets of Thar on the protection of Karunjhar. Among them, poet Khalil Kumbhar’s poem ‘Dongar nei wadho vichu, dongar maru baa’ (Don’t cut the mountain, sell it, the mountain is our father) was sung by singer Rajab Faqir. This poem received great response on social media.

The Sindh Cabinet had decided to ban granite mining in Karunjhar in its meeting held on July 11.

Sindh Minister for Development and Minerals Syed Sardar Ali Shah while holding a press conference with Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon after the meeting of the Sindh Cabinet under the chairmanship of Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said that the cabinet has unanimously decided to protect Karunjhar mountain completely. What has been decided to keep?

According to Syed Sardar Ali Shah: ‘The mountain of Karunjhar will remain forever, we love Karunjhar. The entire area of ​​Nangar Park including Karunjhar Hill, including Bhodesar, is a Chorio Protected Wildlife Sanctuary.

At present, no mining is going on in any part of Karunjhar mountain. There is only Kharsar site which was first leased to a company called Koh Noor in 2000 but later leased to Frontier Works Organisation. There is still mining going on.’

According to Syed Sardar Ali Shah, a review committee consisting of experts will be formed to make the final decision on the mining lease at the Kharsar site, which will determine whether mining is allowed or not.

After that, the Provincial Secretary of Wildlife Department formed this committee, which included representatives of Wildlife Department, Forest Department, Environment Organization WWF, International Organization for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Committee review

According to a copy of the minutes of the committee meeting obtained by The Independent Urdu, the committee approved sections nine, 21 and fourth schedule, rules six and seven of the Sindh Wildlife Protection Act 2020, legal definition of wildlife and wildlife sanctuary, run of Kutch. Reviewed Wildlife Sanctuary Notification, Run of Kutch Wildlife Sanctuary Map and Ramsar Information Sheet downloaded from Ramsar Convention website.

According to the minutes of the meeting, the committee reviewed. A large number of endangered and near-extinct reptiles, birds and mammals are found in Karun, an important part of the Run-of-Kutch Wildlife Sanctuary.

The Critically Endangered Star Tortoise, Critically Endangered Asiatic Wild Vulture, Nile Cow, Chinkara, Red Fox, Golden Jackal, Indian Gray Mongoose and Striped Woodpecker are also found in the Karunjhar range.

According to the minutes of the five-page committee meeting, the peacock, designated as the ‘Bird of Sindh’ by the Sindh government, is found prominently in the area. Gray langur, vulture species including critically endangered Oriental white-backed vulture, long-billed vulture, red-headed vulture and endangered Egyptian vulture.

Moreover, the Karunjhar mountains are the only place where these vultures rest and breed. These vultures are important biological species as they play a cleaning role in the natural environment by eating dead livestock.

In addition, these vultures can play a role in preventing the spread of livestock diseases such as anthrax, tuberculosis, brucellosis, measles, and infectious pneumonia by eliminating germs.

According to the committee, Pakistan is a member of the Convention on Biological Diversity. It is an international agreement that obliges signatory countries to take individual measures to conserve globally important biodiversity or life forms found within their territorial boundaries.

According to the committee: ‘Based on the current rate of vulture population decline, the long-beaked vulture is threatened with extinction in the wild within a few years and will soon become virtually extinct. If the species has any hope of survival, its breeding grounds must be protected.

“Urgent measures are needed to protect the Karunjhar mountains and its surrounding areas to preserve not only the long-beaked vulture but also the breeding grounds of other endangered species.

“It is significant that the breeding colony of long-billed vultures in the Karunjhar Mountains is the largest recorded population in Pakistan, and its protection will be critical to the conservation of the species throughout its range.”

The minutes of the meeting further stated that a recent survey by IUCN Pakistan discovered 149 plant species in the region, some of which were previously unknown for the region.

The survey also documented a total of 205 bird species, 41 mammal species, 31 reptile and amphibian species, and 1,065 invertebrate species in the area, including the critically endangered gecko, which It is found scattered in almost all the mountains and has been declared protected by the Sindh government.

According to the committee members, the run-off of some wildlife sanctuaries is an important part of the Indus flyway used by birds from colder countries to spend some time in winter.

Section 67 of the Sindh Wildlife Protection Act guarantees adherence to multilateral environmental agreements, to which the Government of Pakistan is a party to the Ramsar Convention.

The participants of the meeting unanimously questioned the legitimacy of the meeting of the mining department by referring to the decisions and orders given by the Sindh High Court Hyderabad on October 16, 2023 and the Sindh High Court Mirpurkhas in 2024.

The committee while reviewing the orders of the Sindh High Court said that the orders are binding on the parties and they should be followed with full spirit. The Court has laid down guidelines that are within the ambit of provincial, national and international laws and multilateral environmental agreements. Among the laws by which civil society is governed, conservation of biodiversity and human decisions in the context of climate change is important.

Rainwater comes from the peaks of Karunjhar hill (Amar Garu / Independent Urdu).

‘Where species diversity and human decisions are linked to the protection of fragile ecosystems, it is important to make decisions that protect both national and international interests. However, the mining department concerned did not present the orders of the Sindh High Court before the Sindh Cabinet.

The Sindh High Court had issued clear orders that no excavation can be done in Karunjhar Hill except for the discovery of historical monuments.

The committee added: ‘The entire Karunjhar range is legally a monument and cannot be divided into pieces, nor can any part be given over to prohibited excavations. Any type of excavation will not only destroy its beauty but also destroy the existing topography due to mining.’

According to the committee, the Sindh High Court had ordered the Sindh government’s forest and wildlife department to take all urgent steps to restore the sanctuary for all the animals, birds, whose habitat is or was in Karunjhar. Apart from this, he ordered the plantation and the restoration and protection of the ancient Jain temples there.

The committee members further said that just as the University of Melbourne had done a study in the past to assess the impact of climate change on Kirthar National Park under international environmental conventions, similarly the impact of climate change on Karunjhar would be assessed by independent and neutral international experts. should be reviewed.

The committee recommended that the W. Dubelo F and IUCN make a feasibility report for ‘Eco-tourism’ in some run-off wildlife sanctuaries.

The committee further recommended that under sub-rule six of rule seven of the Sindh Wildlife Protection, Preservation, Conservation and Management Rules 2022, the recommendations made in this meeting of the committee should be submitted to the Chief Minister of Sindh, so that the light of these recommendations Orders should be issued.

These recommendations include prohibition of mining in wildlife sanctuaries, protection of national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, marine protected areas, game reserves under the law, biodiversity of Sindh (including terrestrial) as per schedule four of the Sindh Wildlife Protection Act 2020. , aquatic, genetic and cultural) will be protected and include a complete ban on the use of such works pending a new law.

The Secretary of the Sindh Wildlife Department forwarded the recommendations of the committee to the Chief Secretary.

When the Chief Minister’s House was contacted to know the position of the Sindh government in this regard, Abdul Rashid Chana, the spokesperson of the Chief Minister of Sindh, while talking to Independent Urdu said: ‘The recommendations given by the committee have not yet been received by the Chief Minister’s House. When found, a decision will be made in accordance with law in the light of these recommendations.

“If the committee recommends that mining cannot be carried out, the existing lease will be cancelled.”