Environmental lawyers say authorities began work with land-use permission but no environmental clearance, while conservationists warn the project would damage dunes, marine lilies, red crabs and beach biodiversity.
Bangladesh’s Supreme Court on Monday(14 September) upheld a High Court order halting construction of a 1.6-kilometre road through sand dunes inside an Ecologically Critical Area, a no-development zone and a protected tourism area at Cox’s Bazar beach.
A four-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury, issued the order after hearing a petition filed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change challenging the High Court ruling.
Senior lawyer Minhazul Haque Chowdhury, who represented the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association, or BELA, confirmed the decision.
He said the Appellate Division also directed the High Court to dispose of the rule issued over the matter within two weeks.
Attorney General Md Ruhul Quddus Kajal represented the ministry at Monday’s hearing.
The High Court had on September 2 imposed an eight-week suspension on construction of the road across the sand dunes of Cox’s Bazar beach following a writ petition filed by BELA.
A High Court bench comprising Justice J B M Hassan and Justice Aziz Ahmad Bhuiyan also issued a rule that day, asking the authorities concerned to explain why construction of the road should not be declared illegal and unconstitutional and why the sections already built should not be removed to restore the beach and its biodiversity to their previous condition.
In its petition, BELA said the road was being constructed from Sugandha Point to Hotel Simon under the Urban Development and Urban Governance Project, financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, or JICA.
Experts and environmentalists have opposed the project, saying sand dunes serve as an important natural barrier. They said dunes had been cut for the project, destroying habitats for marine lilies, red crabs and other marine biodiversity.
BELA also alleged that the construction violated an earlier Supreme Court prohibition on any form of development within the Ecologically Critical Area of Cox’s Bazar.
During the hearing, BELA lawyer Minhazul Haque Chowdhury told the court that the beach area is designated as an Ecologically Critical Area, or ECA, making environmental clearance mandatory before any development work can begin.
He said the authorities had started construction after obtaining only land-use permission and without securing environmental clearance.
