HC issues rule against 4 secretaries

The High Court has issued a contempt of court rule against 12 people, including four secretaries, asking them to explain why it should not initiate contempt proceedings against them for ignoring its order.

They have been given two weeks to explain.

The bench of Justice Mohammad Ashfaqul Islam and Justice Mohammad Ashraful Kamal passed the order on Tuesday at the end of a preliminary hearing on a contempt plea filed by the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA).

Environment Secretary Shafiqur Rahman Patwari, Land Secretary Mokhlesur Rahman, Housing Secretary Golam Rabbani and Civil Aviation Secretary Khurshid Alam Chowdhury have been asked to respond.

The other respondents are Chairman of Bangladesh Tourism Corporation Maksudul Hasan Khan, Chittagong Divisional Commissioner Mohammad Abdullah, Director General of the Environment Directorate Raisul Alam Mondol, Deputy Commissioner of Cox’s Bazar district Ruhul Amin, Cox’s Bazar district Superintendent of Police (SP) Azad Mia, Chittagong divisional forest officer Sarker Abdul Awal, Cox’s Bazar Sadar Upazila Executive Officer (UNO) Shahidul Islam and Director of the Environment Directorate (Chittagong circle) Jafar Alam.

On December 27, a national Bangla daily, ‘Bonik Barta’, reported that a housing project was coming up on a land held by the forest department in Cox’s Bazar. The news prompted BELA's writ petition in the High Court.

According to the report, the High Court had earlier banned all forms of construction on the forest department land in the Kalatali area, in Cox’s Bazar.

But the government had gone ahead with executing the 'District Collectorate Officers-Employees Welfare Council Housing Project’ on the land in defiance of the court order.

Over 100 houses had already been built there. Some 51 acres of forests were destroyed, the report said.

On February 18, BELA served a legal notice on the 12 officials, seeking the implementation of the High Court order. It was the second such notice it served on them. BELA filed the contempt plea when both notices were ignored.

Advocate Iqbal Kabir Liton argued for the petitioner at the hearing on Tuesday.

He told reporters that 51 acres of land in Jhilanja Mouja in Cox’s Bazar was considered ‘environmentally vulnerable'.

He said that the High Court, in a verdict on June 8, 2011, had ordered the government to remove all installations from the land within a month.

“The High Court had asked the government to submit a report after implementing the order. But the government is persisting with the housing project instead of implementing the court order,” he added.