HYDERABAD: A miscellaneous application was filed before the Sindh High Court (SHC) Mirpurkhas circuit on Friday by Advocate Shanker Lal to challenge Sindh government’s decision to allow excavation of granite from the Kharsar Karoonjhar hills.

The court has fixed hearing of the application at July 23, according to the petitioner.

The petition refers to the October 19, 2023 decision of the high court’s Hyderabad circuit bench, comprising Justice Mohammad Shafi Siddiqui and Arshad Hussain Khan. The bench had ordered preservation / conservation of Karoonjhar Hills as per international guidelines. It had declared that the “entire range of Karoonjhar Hills is ‘one monument’ under law and cannot be divided into pieces and portions to make some part of it (range) available for prohibited excavation”.

The bench had decided two identical petitions, one of them by Advocate Shanker Lal and the other Munawar Ali Sagar. Both petitioners had challenged mining in Karoonjhar Hills.

Since SHC’s Mirpurkhas circuit has now been established, the petition was transferred there from Hyderabad.

In his fresh petition, Advocate Shanker Lal has challenged the recent decision of the provincial government to issue permits for the excavation of granite from the ‘Kharsar Karoonjhar’ part of the hilly terrain in Nagarparkar.

The provincial cabinet has taken the conditional decision in line with the July 11 recommendation by Special Investment Facilitation Council’s executive committee on the Nagarparkar Granite Excavation Project.

Shanker Lal has pleaded that the government’s move was in disregard of SHC’s Oct 19, 2023 judgement.

He maintained that the Kharsar is part of Karoonjhar Hills and, as such, proposed mining operations were unlawful.

“The Karoonjhar mountain range has already been declared protected heritage under decision of that court as well as under Ramsar Convention, therefore act/decisions of cabinet is illegal, unlawful and against law,” the petitioner added.

He submitted in court that Kharsar Karoonjhar is not separate from Karoonjhar mountains.

The Kharsar Karoonjhar site is located 25 kilometres from Nagarparkar near the village of Kharsar. It stands at a height of over 400ft.

According to the petitioner, this area covers 8-10 sq-kms and is an integral part of Karoonjhar range. It is home to several significant sites, including places of worship and cultural heritage.

The petitioner stated that the mountain housed temples of the Hindu community, Swami Hardas Puri Ashram and a graveyard for the Muslim community. It houses sacred sites for the Jogi community too. Additionally, Kharsar Karoonjhar area supports a diverse range of wildlife species, making it an essential ecological habitat for local wildlife species, facilitating their livelihood and growth.

He pleaded that mining activities in the area posed a serious threat to the delicate ecosystem, potentially leading to displacement and extinction of the species.

He stated that it was regretting to see that despite these factors, the mines and minerals department considered excavation permits for the Kharsar Karoonjhar site. The petitioner submitted that the decision was made with mala fide intent and without proper consideration of area’s cultural, ecological and social significant.

He prayed the court to suspend further process of the cabinet decision in the light of the earlier judgement of SHC’s Hyderabad circuit bench.

Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2024