No obstacle to implement Royal Homes project: HC

Business Desk :
The Appellate Division of Supreme Court disposed of the civil appeal filed by the Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) against the ‘Royal City’ housing project of Sylhet Royal Homes Limited.
The Department of Environment (DoE) has been instructed to monitor whether the conditions of the environmental clearance are being followed in the case of housing projects. Apart from this, it has also been directed to strictly comply with the environmental clearance conditions of the companies implementing the respective housing projects. 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. 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. Mahbub Morshed told the reporters that in 2009, 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. He said that a public interest case was filed against the implementation of the project without the approval of the concerned authorities including the Department of Environment. Later on September 10, 2014, the High Court directed the concerned housing companies to fulfill the conditions of environmental clearance. Either failure to do this ordered to stop work.
Later on 2017, BELA filed a civil appeal against the verdict of the High Court. On December 11, the Appellate Division ordered to follow the conditions of clearance strictly. The HC also ordered the Department of Environment to monitor whether the conditions of clearance are correct. Department of Environment on 17 October 2019 issued clearance for the Royal City Housing Project, which has been shifted to 16 October 2030.