HC bars road construction thru Moheshkhali reserved forest
A High Court bench comprising Justice Fahmida Quader and Justice Md Asif Hasan issued the order.
The High Court has imposed a two-month ban on the construction of a nearly five-kilometre road through a reserved forest in Moheshkhali of Cox's Bazar, citing concerns over the felling of trees and alleged violations of environmental laws.
A High Court bench comprising Justice Fahmida Quader and Justice Md Asif Hasan issued the order today (6 August) after hearing a writ petition filed by the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association.
Alongside the injunction, the court issued a rule asking why the Local Government Engineering Department's initiative to build the road without approval from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change should not be declared illegal.
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The court also sought explanations as to why the proposed 3.7-kilometre stretch of the road through the forest should not be cancelled and why authorities should not be directed to protect and conserve its biodiversity.
The secretaries of the ministries of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives; Home Affairs; and Land have been asked to respond to the rule within four weeks.
Attorney General Ruhul Quddus Kazal represented the state while advocate Minhajul Haque Chowdhury and others stood for the petitioner while hearing the petition.
According to the Environmental Association, around 18,286 acres of land in the No-12 Pahar Mouza of Moheshkhali were handed over to the Forest Department in 1954 for a period of 100 years.
The area was officially declared a reserved forest in 1957, where any activity without approval from the Forest Department is prohibited.
The forest is rich in biodiversity and is protected under the Forest and Tree Conservation Act, 2026, and the Wildlife (Conservation and Security) Act, both of which prohibit activities that damage natural forests, according to the Environmental Association.
The writ alleged that LGED initiated the 4.88-kilometre link road under the South Chattogram Regional Development Project in violation of environmental laws and constitutional obligations. Of the proposed road, 3.70 kilometres would pass through the forest.
