Sylhet housing projects: SC orders to monitor envrn conditions

Staff Reporter :
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Sunday directed the Department of Environment (DoE) to monitor whether the conditions, imposed on two housing projects in Sylhet through environmental clearance certificates in order to protect the water bodies and environment, are being properly implemented or not.
One of the conditions is that the housing projects — “Royal City” owned by private company Royal Homes Limited and “Sonargaon Abasik Elaka (Sonargaon Residential Area)” of another company “Dakkhin Surma City Limited” at South Surma Upazila in Sylhet cannot fill up the water bodies in any manner through their activities.
A four-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice
Hasan Foez Siddique delivered the verdict after disposing of an appeal filed by Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) challenging a High Court in this regard.
BELA filed the appeal with the Appellate Division in 2017 challenging the HC verdict that in 2014 had directed the owners of housing projects “Royal City” and “Sonargaon Abasik Elaka” to provide all information required by the DoE and to fill up all conditions given by the DoE to establish the projects.
In the verdict, the HC also ordered the DoE to take all legal steps so that the companies get approval to run the housing projects at Kuri, Medi, Bharera and Lohajuri Beels (water bodies) in Kuchai Union under South Surma Upazila in Sylhet.
Lawyer Minhazul Haque Chowdhury accompanied by lawyer S Hasanul Banna appeared for BELA while lawyer Mahbub Morshed stood for Royal Homes Limited during hearing of the appeal.