Chittagong Correspondent:
Senior Supreme Court lawyer Manzil Morshed has sent a contempt of court notice to the Chittagong Deputy Commissioner for allegedly disobeying the court’s instructions. The notice was sent by post on Tuesday (March 10).
Lawyer Manzil Morshed said that when news was published in the media that hundreds of illegal brick kilns were operating in different upazilas of Chittagong district, causing serious damage to the environment, Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB) filed a writ petition in the High Court in public interest in 2020. After hearing the writ, the court issued a rule on December 14 of the same year ordering the closure of the illegal brick kilns.
He said that since the court’s instructions were not properly implemented, the HRPB filed a supplementary petition in 2021 and filed a contempt of court complaint against the Deputy Commissioner. Later, more than a hundred illegal brick kilns were demolished and a report was submitted to the court on June 13, 2021. At that time, the then Deputy Commissioner apologized to the court and promised to close the remaining brick kilns.
However, recent media reports have revealed that many of the brick kilns that were closed earlier have reopened and no effective action has been taken by the district administration to implement the court’s instructions.
A report published in a national daily on November 14 said that 37 out of 38 brick kilns in Lohagara upazila of Chittagong do not have licenses. In addition, hundreds of brick kilns in various upazilas including Satkania, Raozan, Fatikchhari, Patiya and Anwara are operating in defiance of the court’s instructions.
Citing these issues, a contempt of court notice has been sent to the current Deputy Commissioner of Chittagong, Mohammad Zahidul Islam Mia. The notice has requested him to take necessary measures to close the illegal brick kilns as per the High Court’s instructions within seven days. Otherwise, the notice has mentioned that a contempt of court case will be filed against him in the High Court.