Road work continues in Moheshkhali reserved forest despite HC injunction
Forest officials say workers resumed construction despite the court order.
Highlights
- High Court imposed two-month construction injunction
- Road project faces long-standing Forest Department objections
- LGED project estimated to cost Tk22 crore
- Bela challenged road construction through reserved forest
Road construction through a reserved forest in Moheshkhali's Shaplapur remained uninterrupted despite a High Court order halting all such activities for two months, according to local forest officials.
The Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) has been developing the 4.88km road under a development project despite objections from the Forest Department from the outset.
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The High Court on 6 August issued a two-month injunction on all road construction activities inside the reserved forest following a public interest litigation filed by the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (Bela).
However, forest officials said construction resumed in parts of the area even after the court order, with concreting work reportedly continuing this afternoon (21 August).
The road runs from JM Ghat in Shaplapur union to Kalarmarchhara, passing through hilly terrain surrounded by dense forest.
Local residents have long used the existing route, and the LGED took the initiative to turn it into a paved road.
Moheshkhali upazila engineer Boni Amin Joni said the road is a gazetted LGED road.
The project is being implemented at an estimated cost of about Tk22 crore with funding from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), he said.
Construction began in September 2025, with concreting and culvert construction progressing in some relatively flat sections.
"Work cannot be taken forward because of objections from the Forest Department. The matter has been reported to the higher authorities," Joni said.
Sheikh Abul Kalam Azad, assistant conservator of forests at the Cox's Bazar Coastal Forest Division, said 18,286.40 acres of forest land in Mouza no 12 hill were declared a reserved forest in 1957.
The forest is recorded in the name of the Forest Department and is rich in biodiversity, he said.
According to the Forest Department, no activity can be carried out in a reserved forest without its approval.
It said tree felling, illegal use of forest land and construction of permanent infrastructure would conflict with laws governing environmental and forest conservation.
"There may be a walking trail through the hills, but it cannot be turned into a paved road. If the LGED does not stop the road work, legal action will be taken," Azad said.
He said the forest is also a habitat for wildlife, including deer, monkeys and pythons.
Construction of a paved road could increase the risks of deforestation, illegal occupation of forest land and destruction of wildlife habitats, he added.
The Forest Department also claimed the project lacked the required approvals for construction inside a reserved forest.
The dispute over the road project eventually reached the High Court after Bela filed a public interest litigation.
Following the preliminary hearing, a High Court Division bench on 6 August ordered a two-month stay on all activities related to road construction through the reserved forest.
The court also issued a rule asking why the initiative to construct the road without approval from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change should not be declared illegal, without lawful authority and contrary to public interest.
The court further asked why the proposal to construct 3.70km of road inside the reserved forest should not be cancelled and why already completed paved sections should not be removed.
It also sought to know why necessary protective and conservation measures should not be ordered.
The court order noted that the 18,286.40 acres of forest land in Mouza No. 12 Pahar was declared a reserved forest through a 1957 gazette notification and that activities there are prohibited without Forest Department approval.
Locals alleged that construction activity continued on parts of the road after the court issued its injunction.
Moheshkhali range officer Humayun Kabir said concreting work was carried out this afternoon despite the court order.
"Forest officials went there and asked them to stop. They stopped for some time but later resumed the construction work," he said.
He added that the matter had been reported to the higher authorities.
The LGED Moheshkhali upazila engineer, Boni Amin Joni, did not answer phone calls made at around 8:30pm today for comment.
