Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed on Thursday said that the police force has returned to a disciplined state after the elected political government assumed office and the army will be gradually withdrawn.
“After the elected political government assumed office, it has been possible to restore discipline within the police force. According to the government’s policy decision, the army will not remain deployed indefinitely for maintaining law and order. A decision has been taken to gradually withdraw the army through coordination among the police, military and relevant agencies,” he said.
The Home Minister came up with the information while talking to reporters after a meeting on the current situation and future measures regarding stone and sand-mixed stone quarries in Sylhet division at the conference room of the Home Ministry at the Bangladesh Secretariat.
Referring to the stone quarries, the minister said the government has formed a high-level expert committee to facilitate limited leasing of stone quarries in Sylhet and Sunamganj districts while ensuring environmental protection and strict compliance with existing laws and regulations.
The committee has been formed with the Sylhet divisional commissioner as convener.
Members of the committee include the deputy commissioners of Sylhet and Sunamganj, representatives from the Department of Environment, Ministry of Water Resources and Geological Survey of Bangladesh (GSB), a professor from Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, and a director from the Ministry of Mineral Resources.
The superintendents of police of the two districts have also been included in the committee to ensure law enforcement coordination.
Describing the committee’s responsibilities, the minister said it will conduct field inspections of quarry areas, assess water barriers caused by siltation in border rivers, examine risks of border changes due to river erosion and provide technical recommendations on environmentally sustainable methods and depth for stone extraction.
The committee will also ensure protection of major tourist attractions, including Bichanakandi, Sada Pathor and Bholaganj.
Besides, ecologically critical areas (ECA) such as Jaflong will remain outside the leasing process, he said.
However, the government expects to receive the committee’s report by the end of this month and take a final decision in the first week of June, he added.
Initiatives will be taken through the Law Ministry to expedite disposal of pending cases related to the issue in the higher courts.