HC wants list of people encroaching Kaptai Lake land

Staff Reporter :
The High Court on Monday ordered the concerned bodies of the government to take necessary steps for stopping illegal encroachment and constructions in the Kaptai Lake in Rangamati District.
Environment Secretary, Local Government Secretary, Director
General of the Environment Department, Deputy Commissioner and Police Superintendent of Rangamati, and Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) of Kaptai have been asked to take action against the illegal encroachment and constructions and to submit a report in the court in two weeks.
The court also asked the respondents to conduct a boundary survey in the Kaptai Lake and prepare a list of the illegal encroachers within 30 days. Kaptai Upazila Nirbahi Officer, Assistant Commissioner of Land (AC Land), and Officer-in-Charge of Rangamati Sadar Police Station have been asked to comply with the order.
The High Court bench of Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam and Justice Md Shohrowardi passed the order after hearing a writ petition filed in this regard.
It also issued a rule upon the concerned bodies of the government to explain in four weeks as to why the inaction of the respondents in stopping illegal encroachment and constructions in the Kaptai Lake should not be declared illegal and as to why the respondents should not be directed to take action for stopping illegal encroachment and constructions in the lake.
Two Supreme Court lawyers including Ripon Baroi on behalf of Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB), a rights organisation, filed the writ petition on last Sunday annexing some news cutting.
Advocate Manzill Murshid appeared in the court hearing on behalf of the writ petitioners, while Deputy Attorney General Kazi Maynul Hassan represented the state.
Later, Manzill Murshid said, “Kaptai Lake is artificial water reservoir. It has fixed boundaries. But the influential people are encroaching the lake in different ways. Many of the public representatives and administrative officials are also involved in this occupation. But the job of the administration and public representatives is to prevent encroachment and preserve it.”