Forest land leased to shipbreaker despite court ban

Kohinoor Steel has regained a five-acre lease of coastal land in Chattogram's Sitakunda, despite the lease being revoked twice before due to a court injunction following accusations of clearing forest to establish a shipbreaking yard. 

The new lease was granted on 24 March after Kohinoor Steel's owner, Abul Kashem, also known as Raja Kashem, appealed to the divisional commissioner of Chattogram. 

Md Tofayel Islam, divisional commissioner, told The Business Standard that Kohinoor's lease was reinstated after proper review and scrutiny of the papers.

This appeal was against the decision to cancel the lease by the deputy commissioner's office on 1 June. Before that, on 29 May, the local administration also conducted an eviction operation of the steel yard.

The forest department and environmental organisations consistently oppose leasing the land. They said the lease was secured by falsely claiming its location outside the forest area and inside the industrial zone.

However, Kohinoor Steel owner Abul Kashem denied any wrongdoing and claims that the recent lease proves his legality. 

Kashem said he has invested crores of taka and obtained all necessary permissions for the project. 

"All the allegations are conspiracies against me. Winning appeal affirms that I acted in accordance with the rules," he added.

During a recent visit to the area, TBS observed that the land was being prepared for shipbreaking activities. Earth filling was ongoing, and repairs were made to the two-storey building on the land. Notably, trees previously present on the north side of the yard had disappeared. 

Hasanul Banna, a lawyer at Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA), told TBS that since 1983-84, these coastal lands have been undergoing afforestation efforts. 

A proposal has been made to transfer the lands to the forest department to protect the forest, he said, adding that the area will get reserved forest status once the process is completed. 

"In 2019, the court clearly stated that no lease should be granted during such proceedings. The district administration was instructed to preserve the land. Despite objections from the forest department, the lease was granted, resulting in the clearance of forests in the area," he added.

Sheikh Abul Kalam Azad, assistant conservator of forests, told TBS that the coastal forest lands have not yet been transferred to the Ministry of Lands. Therefore, these lands can not be leased.

"The land previously included coastal forests. The Ministry of Forests and Environment has been notified, and further action will be taken," he added.

History of land leases

In November 2018, BBC Steel, another company of Abul Kashem, applied to the district administration for a lease of 21.57 acres of land in North Salimpur mauza to build a shipbreaking yard. 

However, Sitakunda land office found the land is also part of Tulatali mauza, situated west of North Salimpur and along the Bay of Bengal coast and outside the shipbreaking industrial zone. 

It noted that no yards could be established on coastal land outside the designated ship breaking industrial zone, including Tulatali mauza. 

The following year despite the inspection report, BBC Steel was again granted land in Tulatali mauza, this time of 7.10 acres. 

The move was met with objection from the forest department, as the leased land did not belong to the special zone designated for the ship breaking industry. 

Besides, the Bangladesh Environmental Law Association (BELA) filed a public interest case with the High Court to cancel the lease. 

On 2 January 2020, the High Court declared the lease proceedings unauthorised, directing the district administration and forest department to take measures to protect forest land. 

However, the same year, Kashem's another company Kohinoor Steel applied for 10 acres of land in 2020 in the same area. This time, the then Sitakunda Upazila Nirbahi Officer Milton Roy and Assistant Commissioner (Land) Mohammad Rashedul Islam opposed the lease in the High Court citing environmental issues. 

The two too were later also transferred. 

On 14 February 2022, Kohinoor Steel was granted the lease of 5 acres despite objections from the forest department. Forest officials alleged the lease was secured with the false claim that it falls in North Salimpur and in the ship breaking industry zone. 

However, the land falls mostly in Tulatali mauza, they said. 

In response, BELA issued legal notices to various parties, including the district administration, forest department, and Kohinoor Steel. The environmental organisation filed a contempt of court plea for re-leasing the land. 

Consequently, the deputy commissioner's office cancelled the lease in June 2023, conducting an eviction campaign and informing the court of the decision. 

The district administration records cited the land as Tulatali mauza (non-industrial zone) as the reason for the lease cancellation. Besides, it was noted that the lessee had damaged the natural environment and biodiversity by cutting trees and illegally occupying the land, violating the lease terms.

BELA's Hasanul Banna told TBS that the lease has been cancelled twice in accordance with the High Court's order. "Reinstating the lease for the same land is a violation of the High Court's decision, which we will challenge in court again."