A people鈥檚 court on Friday ordered an immediate suspension of all activities related to the under-construction Dhaka Elevated Expressway link road through Hatirjheel and Panthakunja Park in the capital Dhaka.
The court order marked the 168th day of a sit-in programme by the Bangladesh Tree Protection Movement, a conservationists鈥� platform that began the sit-in inside the park at Karwan Bazar on December 14, 2024, demanding the park鈥檚 protection.
The court, which was set up inside the park, also ordered the project鈥檚 re-evaluation and legal action against the planners, government officials and constructors who were behind what the court termed an 鈥榠llegal鈥� initiative.
It also recommended that any future infrastructural projects with environmental impact be undertaken only with citizen consent and support from a majority of lawmakers.
The Bangladesh Bridge Authority-led Dhaka Elevated Expressway link road project cuts through a densely populated FDC鈥揚lassey area in the capital.
Despite formal invitations sent on May 26, no government officials, including advisers and secretaries from the ministries of road transport and bridges, public works, and environment, forest and climate change, attended the hearing at the people鈥檚 court.
The five-member jury included Dhaka University professor Gitiara Nasreen, economist Anu Muhammad, Transparency International Bangladesh executive director Iftekharuzzaman, lawyer Jyotirmoy Barua and the July Memorial Foundation general secretary Samsi Ara Zaman.
Reading the verdict, Gitiara said that the court found that the project perpetuated the 鈥榗orrupt and anti-public practices鈥� of the ousted Awami League government.
Plaintiff Amirul Rajiv, also the lead coordinator of the park protection movement, argued that the Dhaka Elevated Expressway project violated constitutional provisions, environmental laws and public-private partnership rules, mainly to benefit foreign investors.
Plaintiff prosecutor Naim Ul Hassan added that while foreign investors would contribute Tk聽6,527 crore and the government Tk聽2,431 crore to the project, an additional Tk聽4,917 crore from public funds would go for the support project, amounting to 53 per cent of the total costs, violating viability gap funding rules.
Urban planner Professor Adil Mohammed Khan testified that the project lacked environmental clearance and traffic impact assessment.
Ecology expert Pavel Partha said that the project had already destroyed Panthakunja鈥檚 rich biodiversity.
Other witnesses, including Syeda Ratna, Sirajuddin Miah and Syed Mohammad Zakir, demanded cancellation of the link road project.
The people鈥檚 court also ordered the reopening of Panthakunja Park to the public and an end to the Bangladesh Tree Protection Movement sit-in protest.
Local residents, rights and cultural activists were also present during the court activities.
In Rajshahi, green activists under the banner of Varendra Youth Forum and Sabuj Sanghati held a rally on Friday, demanding the protection of Hatirjheel and Panthakunja Park in Dhaka, and the ecological preservation in Rajshahi and the Barind region, 抖阴精品鈥檚 Rajshahi staff correspondent reported.
