The High Court (HC) on Monday issued an injunction against all the activities of the Millennium City housing project for illegally filling earth on Totail khal (canal) and its adjacent farmland in Keraniganj on the outskirts of the capital.
The HC also ordered the chairman of the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha, the chairman and the director general of the Department of Environment (DoE) and the deputy commissioner of Dhaka to submit separate enquiry reports on the latest situation of the canal and its adjacent farmland.
An HC bench comprising Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam and Justice Md Atabullah passed the order after hearing a writ petition filed by the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) and three other organisations challenging the action of the Millennium Housing Limited for earth filling in the water body.
The HC also issued a rule, asking authorities concerned of the government to explain as to why their failure to protect Totail canal and its adjacent farmland from encroachment by the Millennium Housing Limited should not be declared illegal.
It also wanted to know in the rule to explain as to why the respondents should not be directed to restore the Total canal and adjacent farmland to its original shape. Lawyer Minhazul Haque Chowdhury along with lawyer Hasanul Banna moved the petition on behalf of BELA and three organisations, while Assistant Attorney General Md Selim Azad represented the state in the hearing.
According to the writ petition, the 10-acre Totail canal in Taranagar union of Keraniganj upazila under Dhaka district is recorded as a 'khal' in the government documents. These mouzas are identified as water body in the Detail Area Plan (DAP).
However, these water bodies and adjacent agricultural low lands are being filled indiscriminately for the implementation of housing projects. Already, the khal has been filled by Millennium Housing Limited in the name of a housing project and various structures, including signboards, have been erected.
bikashju@gmail.com