Sonargaon, N'ganj: Earth filling stopped, DC tells HC

Deputy Commissioner of Narayanganj Rabbi Miah yesterday told the High Court that earth filing in croplands and wetlands in Sonargaon upazila had been halted.

As the DC did not specify exactly when the earth filling was stopped, the HC asked him whether he was sure about it.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

Rabbi said he would submit a compliance report to the court if it wanted.       

The HC asked the DC to submit a report to it in two weeks and said it would take appropriate measures against him if his statement was found to be incorrect.

The DC appeared before the HC bench of Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam and Justice Ashish Ranjan and made the statement as per its February 14 order.

The court adjourned the hearing on the contempt petition for two weeks and temporarily exempted the DC from personal appearance before it.   

Several hundred acres of croplands have been damaged with sand filling in the upazila since the HC in 2014 issued an injunction against the activity, alleged local villagers.

In response to a public interest litigation, the HC in March that year banned destruction of ecologically-sensitive agricultural land, adjoining wetlands and ecology along the Meghna river in Jainpur, Chaihishya, Char Bhabnathpur, Bhatibanda, Pirojpur and Ratanpur moujas in Sonargaon. 

On February 14, the HC summoned the Narayanganj DC to appear before it to explain the actual situation of croplands and wetlands in the upazila, where a vast land was allegedly being sand-filled flouting the HC's injunction as well as to inform the court about the steps taken by the government to comply with its order.

The bench passed the summons order following a petition filed by Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (Bela).

The Bela submitted the petition on February 6 seeking an order on 12 respondents, including Rabbi, to appear before it. But the court only asked the DC to appear before it.

The respondents include secretaries to the housing and public works, land, environment and forest and home ministries; the director general, a director and a deputy director of the Department of Environment (DoE); the upazila nirbahi officer and assistant commissioner (land) of Sonargaon; and the managing directors of Unique Property Development Limited and Sonargaon Economic Zone. 

The HC on January 22 asked the respondents to explain why its order to stop destruction of land in six moujas of Sonargaon upazila has not been complied with yet. 

The sand filling was started by the real estate developer in 2009 for building a resort city. It was stopped for two years following a court injunction. But later the sand filling resumed for the private Sonargaon Economic Zone with a different company Unique Hotel and Resort Ltd of the same business conglomerate.

In September last year, the company made preparations to resume earth filling for the private economic zone. The Bela on October 2 served a legal notice on the company and the DoE, bringing contempt charges against them.