Four govt secretaries among 11 held in contempt over illegal St Martin’s construction

The High Court has issued a rule holding 11 including four government secretaries, in contempt of court for failure to stop illegal constructions and remove the structures already built in violation of environmental laws.

The rule asked why legal proceedings should not be started against them.

The bench of High Court Justices Md Ashfaqul Islam and Ashish Ranjan Das issued the rule after hearing a petition from the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA).

The eleven are – the environment and forests secretary, the civil aviation and tourism secretary, the fisheries and livestock secretary, the naval transport secretary, the chairman of the Parjatan Corporation, the director general of the environment department, the regional director of Chittagong of the environment department, the Cox’s Bazar deputy commissioner, the superintendent of police, the district council chief executive and the chairman of the St Martin Union Parishad.

Lawyers Minazul Hoque Chowdhury and Sayeed Ahmed Kabir represented BELA during the hearing.

A survey of the Coastal and Wetland Biodiversity Management Project (CWBMP) in 2007 found that there were 74 illegal constructions on St Martin island, said Sayeed Ahmed Kabir.

In 2009, BELA filed a writ petition with the high court asking for the demolition of those structures.

After a hearing of the petition on Oct 24, 2011, the court ordered the removal of any structure constructed without clearance that put the environment of St Martin at risk.

The court also ordered that no new structure could be constructed without environmental clearance.

The High Court decision had also asked for legal action against any individual responsible for building illegal structures under the environmental protection act.

Despite the court order, the construction of hotels and motels in places that could damage the environment did not stop, rather had increased in parts, prompting the new writ petition, said Sayeed Ahmed Kabir.