Act now to stop encroachment on Arial Beel
The High Court yesterday directed the authorities concerned to immediately stop illegal earth-filling, construction of structures, and encroachment on Arial Beel in Munshiganj -- one of the largest water bodies in the district.
The deputy commissioner and superintendent of police of Munshiganj, upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) of Srinagar, and director (enforcement) of the Department of Environment (DoE) have been ordered to take necessary steps in this regard.
According to the HC directives, they have to submit compliance reports to the court in three months.
Along with reports, the court also asked the authorities concerned to submit satellite maps of Arial Beel starting from 2010 to 2022.
The bench of Justice JBM Hassan and Justice Razik-Al-Jalil passed the order following a writ petition filed by the rights organisation Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB) seeking its directives on the authorities concerned to save Arial Beel from encroachments and illegal earth filling and construction of structures there.
The HC bench also issued a rule asking the authorities to explain why their inaction to protect Arial Beel should not be declared illegal.
In the rule, the HC asked them to issue show cause to encroachers, asking why they should not be ordered to remove the structures already constructed at the water body and to remove the soil that has been used to fill it, Deputy Attorney General Kazi Mynul Hassan told The Daily Star.
The HRPB submitted the petition as a public interest litigation to the HC on August 14 based on a report published in The Daily Star on July 22 under the headline "Arial Beel under threat".
Citing the petition, HRPB President and Supreme Court lawyer Manzil Murshid told The Daily Star that encroachment, earth-filling and construction of structures at any waterbody are punishable offences under the Natural Water Reservoir Conservation Act 2000 and the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act, 1995.
According to The Daily Star report published on July 22, Arial Beel is facing an invasion by illegal real estate developers. These business entities have acquired parts of the wetland, filled them up with sand, and strategically placed signboards to attract potential buyers for residential development.
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