DHAKA, Nov 26, 2024 (BSS) - The High Court (HC) today stayed an agreement between Cox's Bazar district administration and Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority (BEZA) for leasing 8,001 acres of forest land and 4,916 hectares of ecologically critical area (ECA) at Sonadia island in the district for raising an eco-tourism park.
 
A High Court division bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Debasish Roy Chowdhury passed the order and issued a rule. The court made the order after hearing a writ petition filed by the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA).
 
In addition to staying the agreement's effectiveness, the court also ordered the district administration to take steps soon to stop cutting trees and establish shrimp farms in ECA.
 
The court also ordered the secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Chief Conservator of Forest and Director General of the Department of Environment to prepare a report on the damage already been done to forest land, formulate a recovery plan and submit that at the court within six months.
 
Advocate Mohammad Ashraf Ali and S Hasanul Banna moved the plea before the court, while Deputy Attorney General Tanim Khan stood for the state.