Concrete wall to be built along Margalla Avenue

Islamabad : The federal government would build a wall along with Margalla Avenue to help protect the boundary of Margalla Hills National Park (MHNP) against any kind of encroachment or illegal occupation by certain elements.

According to the details, the demarcation of the boundary of MHNP is nowadays a hot issue among the government circles that want to protect it from encroachment or illegal occupation by the housing societies

The proposal of building a boundary wall along Margalla Avenue was floated by the climate change ministry. Prime Minister Imran Khan also showed his consent over it after which it has been decided to make it a part of the project. The government officials would also hold ‘open kutcheris’ to get input from different segments of the society about this mega project.

The work on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) the report is underway to ensure that the construction of the Margalla Avenue never affects green areas on the boundary of the MHNP.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Margalla Avenue is around 33.5 km long dual carriageway, which will link the Grand Trunk (GT) Road near ‘Nicholson Minar’ with the Murree Expressway, skirting the Margalla Hills.

The chairperson of Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) has informed that they have checked and got to know the new Margalla Avenue would not cut through MHNP.

“It will go through the buffer zone and we will be having a board meeting soon to discuss this in detail. We will need to hire a consultant to do a Biodiversity Impact Assessment from a reputable organization,” she said.

The spokesperson of the climate change ministry told this correspondent that all precautionary measures would be taken in construction of Margalla Avenue to ensure that this project never affects the natural environment of the federal capital.