The Appellate Division on Sunday canceled the High Court judgement allowing Laxmipur UP Chairman Md Selim Khan to extract sand from the Meghna River in Chandpur.
A three-member bench of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court (SC) headed by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique passed the order. Two other members of the bench are Justice Obaidul Hassan and Justice M Enayetur Rahim.
Following the order, Selim Khan will no longer be able to extract sand in 21 mouzas on the banks of the Meghna in Chandpur, said Attorney General AM Amin Uddin, the state's chief legal officer.
Deputy Attorney General Kazi Mainul Hasan appeared for the state in the court while senior lawyer Ajmalul Hossain QC for Selim Khan.
In 2015, Selim Khan filed a writ petition seeking directions for sand extraction after conducting a hydrographic survey in Meghna river at his own expense in 21 mouzas of Chandpur and Haimchar upazila. The writ was filed mentioning to activate a route for water transport.
The High Court issued a rule on July 9 of the same year on the primary hearing of the writ petition.
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Later, on 5 April 2018, the High Court disposed of the rule delivering verdict saying that there is sufficient sand and soil in the river of those mouzas and there is no obstacle to extract it.
No response (affidavit) was submitted to the court on behalf of the respondents (Land Secretary, Shipping Secretary, Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) chairman, Chandpur deputy commissioner and hydrography department director) so that the matter (having sand) seemed credible.
The verdict directed the defendants, including Chandpur deputy commissioner, to allow sand extraction of 86.30 cubic meters (30.46 crore cubic feet) from the Meghna river in 21 mouzas.
In March this year, the state filed a leave to appeal to the Appellate Division seeking stay of the High Court order regarding sand extraction in Maghna.
According to the state's leave to appeal, the High Court did not realize that the hydrographic survey report is not the sole basis for extracting sand from a river under the Balumahal and Soil Management Law.
According to the Balumahal and Soil Management Law, whether there is any damage to the environment, landslides, diversion of river or canal water, government establishments (such as bridges, culverts, roads, ferry terminals, markets, tea gardens, river dams, etc.) and residential areas or not, Deputy Commissioner will take the opinion of the authorities concerned.
Besides, the deputy commissioner can send a proposal to the divisional commissioner to cancel the balumahal if there is not enough extractable sand, or if there is any possibility of harm of nature and ecology for sand or soil extraction or important government establishment, or public interests.
Leave to Appeal further said that no assessment has been made from Chandpur deputy commissioner office regarding sand extraction from Chandpur shoals. Even the mouzas mentioned in the writ have not been declared as Balummahal by the Divisional Commissioner.
Hydrographic surveys are used to identify or map where the soil is at the bottom of a river in a modern way. Hydrographic survey is to be done first to extract sand from shoals.
And so, the HC order to allow the Selim Khan to extract sand is null and void.
On April 4, the hearing of Leave to Appeal was held in the Appellate Division Chamber Judge's Court. On the same day, the judge of the chamber judge shifted the state's appeal to the regular bench of the Appellate Division suspending the HC verdict.