The High Court has issued a rule asking why an order will not be issued to demolish the establishments constructed on Cox’s Bazar sea beach without securing environment clearance certificates and sewerage plants.
The bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman issued the rule on Monday (Dec 9) after hearing a writ petition filed by Bangladesh Environment Lawyers Association (BELA).
Twenty-two officials, including secretaries to the Cabinet Division and ministries of environment, civil aviation and tourism, housing and public works, public administration, and water resources, have been asked to reply to the rule in three months.
Lawyer Minhazul Haque Chowdhury and Sayeed Ahmed Kabir stood for the petitioner at the hearing while Deputy Attorney General Amit Talukder represented the state.
Sayeed Ahmed later told reporters that the court asked to explain why the respondents’ failure to protect hills, hillocks and forest outside the reserved areas will not be declared illegal.
The court asked to explain why the decision of a task force meeting held on Feb 25 last year to construct a 10-storiey circuit house building in Cox’s Bazar will be declared ‘autocratic and illegal’.
It also wanted to know why order will not be issued to facilitate environment clearance certificates and sewerage systems for the hotels, motels, restaurants, markets and other establishments in Cox’s Bazar.