The High Court on Sunday ordered the Sylhet divisional commissioner and the district鈥檚 deputy commissioner to personally appear before the court and explain their positions on the stone extraction from the protected areas.
The director general of the Bureau of Mineral Resources Development, along with the Sylhet deputy commissioner and police superintendent, was also required to explain their role to the court after three months, according to a press release issued by the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association.
The bench of Justice Kazi Zinat Hoque and Justice Aynun Nahar Siddiqua passed the order after hearing a writ petition filed by the association.
The court directed the officials to clarify what actions, if any, were taken regarding the extraction, collection, and removal of stones from several 鈥榮anguaries鈥� (protected stone quarry zones) in Sylhet until August 2024.
The court also instructed the BMRD director general, along with the Sylhet deputy commissioner and the police superintendent, to prepare and submit a detailed report.
The report must include a list of individuals or entities responsible for the illegal stone extraction in seven protected areas and legal action taken against each of them.
In addition, the court asked the BMRD DG to draft a master plan for implementing sustainable eco-tourism in the region.
This follows a meeting held on April 27, chaired by the adviser to the Ministry of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources, said association lawyer Minhazul Hoque Chowdhury.聽
Minhaz said that the authorities were asked to submit compliance reports to the court in three months.