Saturday 18 June 2011

Remove structures from Ramanabad river: HC

The High Court (HC) on June 9 directed the government to remove all structures from Ramanabad River banks within 60 days.

The court also declared the construction of a market at the riverbank at Golachipa Upazila in Patuakhali illegal.


A High Court bench comprising of justices A H M Shamsuddin Chowdhury and Gobinda Chandra Tagore passed the verdict on Thursday after hearing a writ petition filed by Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA).

The court also asked the concerned authorities to demolish all the installations built on the riverbed within 60 days.

Advocate Iqbal Kabir Liton argued for BELA during the hearing while barrister A B M Altaf Hossain stood for the state.

Liton told bdnews24.com that a writ petition was filed on Apr 5 last year as public interest litigation claiming that a local parliament member was filling earth and constructing structures on the Ramanabad River bank.

The High Court on the same day issued a rule upon the government to explain why earth filling and construction of structures on the river bank should not be declared illegal.

In response to another writ petition filed by BELA, the same High Court bench directed the government to relocate the 'Rainbow CNG Station' from Batali Hill area in Chittagong.

Liton said that as per the Chittagong Master Plan, the hill area has been identified as an open space. So, commercial installations should not be constructed there.

Counsel for the Bangladesh Railway Dr Naim Ahmed said that upon order from higher authorities, the plot of Bangladesh Railway was allocated to set up a CNG (compressed natural gas) station.

The court, after the hearing from both sides, directed the government to relocate the station.

BELA filed the writ petition in 2006 challenging the legality of the construction of CNG station on the spot.

The court the same year issued a rule upon the government asking it why the construction of the CNG station should not be declared illegal.
bdnews24.com 

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