On October 11, 2021, the High Court of Bangladesh stayed the Government of Bangladesh’s (GoB) order allocating 700 acres of protected forest by Cox’s Bazar for the construction of a civil service academy for three months. This decision is a temporary victory for Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA) and other national and local environmental organizations mobilizing on the issue.
The court also asked cabinet, environment, land and public administration secretaries to reply to the rule within four weeks. In June of this year the Ministry of Land allotted the land for the construction of this second public service training academy, ignoring vehement opposition on environmental and ecological grounds from the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. The allotted land is in the ecologically critical area (ECA) of the Jhilongja forest, next to Cox’s Bazar-Teknaf Marine Drive, in a stretch locally known as Shuknachori. The colonial rulers from the British Empire declared the area reserved for forest as far back as 1935. The Land Ministry’s allocation decision also contradicts the Forest Act, which vests the jurisdiction to lease forest land with hills and waterfalls to the forest department only.
Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA) denounced the Land Ministry’s decision to lease out 700 acres of protected forest area in Cox’s Bazar to Bangladesh Civil Service Administration Academy. BAPA launched a powerful movement on the issue through various on-line and in-person events. Sultana Kamal, the President and Sharif Jamil, the General Secretary, of BAPA signed a press statement expressing the organization’s concerns that any construction in the area, 400 acres of which are hilly and the remaining 300 acres of which contain small waterfalls, will affect the ecological balance and endanger local biodiversity. The area is home to 58 species of trees, endangered Asian elephants, deer, Burmese pythons and birds, according to BAPA research.
On Sunday Sep 12, 2021, twenty local green organizations formed a human wall in Cox’s Bazar’s district headquarters demanding the cancellation of this illegal lease of protected forest land. Fazlul Kader Chowdhury, president of BAPA’s Cox’s Bazar unit, condemned the Land Ministry for breaking the law meant to protect the forest land.
The recent stay order came as a result of a petition filed and argued upon by Advocate Md. Moniruzzaman Kabir, a lawyer practicing at the Bangladesh Supreme Court. The bench of Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Mia and Md Kamrul Hossain Molla have also asked the Cabinet, Environment, Land and Public Administration secretaries to send a reply within four weeks explaining why the lease will not be declared illegal.
