The High Court has ordered the closure of all illegal brick kilns in Chattogram. The court has instructed that a report on the implementation of this order be submitted within 15 days.
A High Court bench comprising Justice Md Mujibur Rahman Mia and Justice Hamidur Rahman issued this order on Sunday after hearing a writ petition. The petitioner’s lawyer, Manjil Morshed, confirmed the details of the order.
According to sources, a writ petition was filed in 2020 by the human rights organisation Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh, seeking directives to close the illegal brick kilns in Chattogram. On 14 December of that year, the court issued a rule and also ordered the closure of all unlicensed, illegal brick kilns within seven days, leading to the shutdown of several kilns.
Last year, the petitioner filed a supplementary application, upon which the High Court directed the submission of a compliance report on the implementation of the order by 15 January 2025. Following the failure to submit that report to the court and media reports about the resumption of illegal brick kiln operations in Lohagara and Satkania, the petitioner filed another supplementary application on 20 January, seeking orders to halt the illegal brick kiln operations.
In continuation of this process, the High Court, after concluding the hearing, has ordered the closure of all illegal brick kilns in Chattogram. The court has instructed that a report on the implementation of this order be submitted within 15 days.
The deputy commissioner of Chattogram, the director of the Department of Environment in Chattogram, the superintendent of police of Chattogram, the UNO of Lohagara, and seven others have been directed to implement the order and submit the report to the court. The next hearing is scheduled for 17 December.
During the hearing, the petitioner’s lawyer, Manjil Morshed, argued that following the change in government, most illegal brick kiln owners have resumed operations during the current brick-burning season, causing severely harmful effects on the environment in Chattogram.
He stated that illegal brick kilns are operating under the very nose of the administration, yet no action is being taken in accordance with the Brick Kiln Control Act 2013.
