Environmental lawyers say the project damaged coastal ecosystems, leading to legal action that has temporarily halted construction and raised concerns over beach protection.
The High Court of Bangladesh on Wednesday imposed an eight-week ban on all activities related to the construction of a 1.6-kilometre road in the ecologically critical area (ECA), no-development zone and reserved tourism area of Cox’s Bazar sea beach.
The High Court Division also issued a rule against the authorities concerned, asking why the road construction project initiated by Cox’s Bazar Municipality and the failure of relevant agencies to prevent it should not be declared without legal authority, against public interest, beyond regulations and illegal as it violates the Constitution and existing laws of Bangladesh.
The court also sought an explanation as to why an order should not be issued to remove parts of the already constructed road and restore the beach and its biodiversity.
The order and rule were issued on Wednesday, 2 September 2026, after an initial hearing on a public interest litigation case filed by the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA). The bench of the High Court Division, comprising Justice JBM Hasan and Justice Aziz Ahmed Bhuiyan, passed the order.
The case, numbered 12294/2026, was filed over the construction of a road from Sugandha Point of Cox’s Bazar sea beach to Hotel Seagull, located within the ecologically critical area and no-development zone.
Cox’s Bazar Municipality began constructing the approximately 1.6-kilometre road under the “Urban Development and Governance Project” with funding from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The project involved filling a large area of the beach, prompting protests from environmental experts and activists.
According to BELA, sand dunes that have served as a natural barrier for coastal protection for many years were destroyed using excavators for the road project. It said vegetation essential to the beach ecosystem, including sea purslane, as well as habitats of red crabs and marine biodiversity, were also damaged.
The High Court’s latest order came after BELA challenged the road construction, saying it violated previous Supreme Court judgments and orders that directed authorities to refrain from constructing structures in ecologically critical areas of the sea beach and to remove illegal structures.
The organisation filed the case in the public interest seeking protection of Cox’s Bazar sea beach, described in the petition as the world’s longest sea beach.
The respondents in the case include the secretaries of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; the Local Government Division under the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives; the Ministry of Housing and Public Works; and the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism.
Other respondents include the chairman of the Cox’s Bazar Development Authority, the director general of the Department of Environment, the Cox’s Bazar deputy commissioner, the police superintendent, the administrator of Cox’s Bazar Municipality, the director of the district office of the Department of Environment and the general manager of National Development Engineers (NDE) Ltd.
The case was represented on behalf of BELA by Advocate Minhajul Haque Chowdhury, assisted by Advocates Hasanul Banna and Rumana Sharmin (Bar-at-Law). Attorney General Ruhul Quddus Kajol represented the government.
