To save the environment of Saint Martin’s Island near Cox’s Bazar, the High Court on Wednesday ordered the authorities concerned to immediately shut down the ‘Saint Martin’s Resort’, an unlicensed resort of Holiday Tourism Limited.
A HC bench comprising Justice JBM Hassan and Justice Razik-Al-Jalil came up with the order after rejecting a rule issued by it earlier in this regard.
Advocate AFM Hasan Arif appeared for Holiday Tourism Limited while Barrister Rezwana Hasan represented the Bangladesh Environment Lawyers Association (BELA) during the hearing on the petition.
Later, Rezwana said that the HC had on October 24 in 2011 in a verdict directed the authorities concerned to conduct a survey within 60 days to identify the illegal buildings and demolish them following a writ petition filed by the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association in 2009.
The BELA conducted a survey in 2017 and found 104 hotels and restaurants operating in the island, which the DoE certified as illegal, she added.
She also said that instead of evicting the unauthorised constructions, new structures were raised not only by private entities but even by law enforcement agencies.
‘Due to such non-stop grabbing and reckless use of lands, the highly fragile and sensitive island eco-system faces risks of extinction,’ she said.
In accordance with the High Court verdict, the Department of Environment authorities issued a notice of eviction of Saint Martin’s Resort along with other establishments built without environmental clearance on the Island.
Later, the Department of Environment rejected the application due to lack of sufficient information when it applied for environmental clearance in favour of Saint Martin’s Resort.
The Saint Martin’s Resort authorities Holiday Tourism Limited filed a writ petition with the HC in 2017, challenging the legality of cancelling its application by DoE.
Later, the HC issued a rule asking the DoE to explain why its notice to evict the Saint Martin’s Resort should not be declared illegal. Later, BELA became an added party in the petition.
After a final hearing on the rule, the HC bench on Wednesday rejected the petition paving the way for the DoE to demolish Saint Martin’s Resort.
