HC issues status quo on Ashuganj Power Station Company’s river filling activities
The court has also issued a rule asking why the river filling should not be declared illegal
The High Court (HC) has issued a status quo on filling up the banks of the River Meghna and the adjoining Sonarampur canal in Ashuganj upazila of Brahmanbaria that is being done by Ashuganj Power Station Company Limited (APSCL).
The court has also simultaneously issued a rule asking why the APSCL's activities should not be declared illegal.
The HC bench of Justice Md Mojibur Rahman Mia and Justice Md Kamrul Hossain Mollah issued the order on Monday after hearing a writ petition filed by the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association.
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The court asked 17 people, including the secretaries of Power, Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shipping, and Water Resources, and the APSCL managing director to respond to the rule and implement the order.
The court also directed them to submit a report within 60 days to the court, on the progress of the implementation of the court order and to assess the damage caused by the illegal filling of the canal and part of the river.
The director general of the environment department, chairman of the river protection commission, and the Brahmanbaria deputy commissioner, have been asked to implement the order.
Barrister Mohammad Ashraf Ali, who stood for the writ petition, told the media that although the APSCL claimed that it was filling up its own space, the officials of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority and Bangladesh Water Development Board said they had inspected the site and found the filled portion belonged to the river.
