S A Shofiee Sylhet :
1,500 to 2,000 people looted white stones from Bholaganj in Sylhet. Due to this, instructions have been given to file a case against 2,000 people for violating Section 93(1) of the Mineral Resources (Control and Development) Act, 1992 and Rules, 2012.
This information was given in the report submitted to the High Court on behalf of the Mineral Resources and Environment Secretary on Thursday. The report was submitted to the High Court bench of Justice Qazi Zinat Haque and Justice Ainun Nahar Siddiqa.
The report said that on August 15, following the ministry’s instructions, case number 09 was filed with Companiganj Police Station. The case states that since August 5, 1500-2000 unidentified persons have stolen stones from the Bholaganj stone quarry in Companiganj upazila.
As per the court’s instructions, a 6-member expert committee including a professor from BUET has been formed at the request of the Additional Secretary (Operations), Energy and Mineral Resources Department to assess the environmental financial loss.
The Deputy Commissioner filed an affidavit and informed the court that the work of replacing the stones is ongoing, the work of preparing a list of responsible persons is ongoing, and the surveillance of the Bholaganj stone quarry area is continuing.
When news of the looting of white stones was published in various newspapers, the environmental organization Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh filed a writ petition in the public interest, and the High Court issued a rule on August 14. In addition, the defendants were ordered to collect the white stones looted from different parts of the country within 7 (seven) days with the cooperation of the local civil administration and law enforcement agencies and replace them at the specified location in Bholaganj. A total of 5 (five) people, including the district administration, BGB, and RAB, were ordered to prepare a list of those involved in the looting of the white stones and submit them to the court in the form of an affidavit within 15 (fifteen) days.
The Environment Secretary and the Mineral Resources Secretary were ordered to form an expert committee, which would include a professor from BUET, to assess the financial damage caused to the environment due to the removal of the stones and submit a report to the court within 2 (two) months. The local administration and the defendants were ordered to form a monitoring team to monitor the area day and night within 48 (forty-eight) hours and submit a report to the court within 2 (two) weeks. Senior lawyer Manzil Morshed conducted the hearing.
