HC issues contempt rule over a river lease

Staff Reporter:

The High Court on Sunday issued a contempt of court rule against the chairman of the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) and four other officials for allegedly violating its earlier order by leasing out a portion of the Karnaphuli River.
The bench of Justice Fahmida Quader and Justice Md Ashif Hasan issued the rule following a writ petition filed on 8 February, asking the five officials to explain why they should not be punished for contempt of court.

Those named in the rule are CPA Chairman Rear Admiral SM Moniruzzaman, Additional Secretary (Administration) Md Habibur Rahman, Member (Finance) Md Shahidul Alam, Member (Engineering) Commodore Kausar Rashid, and Assistant Manager of the Estate Department Mohammad Rayan Uddin.

Petitioner’s lawyer Manzill Murshid told the court that in an earlier public interest litigation, the High Court had issued directives to protect the Karnaphuli River and instructed the authorities to act in accordance with official survey records.

He alleged that despite those directives, the CPA leased out a portion of the river classified as river land in official surveys to the Chattogram City Corporation.