The Forest Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has warned the Galiyat Development Authority (GDA) about the illegal construction of the New Monal Restaurant in Makhnial, Haripur.
The Makhnial forest region is part of the Haripur Forest Division, and it is classified as a protected area under the country’s environmental laws, making development there illegal.
The KP Forest Department has advised Director General GDA in an official letter to guarantee full compliance with Section 144, which was imposed by Chief Minister Mahmood Khan and prohibits all forms of activities in the protected region.
On the condition of anonymity, a senior Forest Department official claimed that the New Monal Restaurant is being built on 85-Kanal encroached land in Guzara region Makhnial forest area, which is an extension of the already created Dino Valley.
He further stated that the department has filed three FIRs against the proprietor of New Monal Restaurant for violating Section 144 of the KP Forest Ordinance 2002, and that he is currently on trial in the Special Forest Magistrate’s Court in Haripur.
The Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) recently took control of Monal Restaurant in the Margalla Hills National Park (MHNP).
The eatery was found illegal by the Islamabad High Court in January, and the administration of the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) was instructed to seal it and give it over to the IWMB.
The IWMB intends to convert it into a wildlife education center, with the goal of enhancing public knowledge about the MHNP’s animal conservation and preservation.
