HC directs all illegal brick kilns in CHT to close in 7 days
They also issued a four-week rule on why action will not be directed under sections 4,5,14,18 of the Brick Kilns Control Act 2013
The High Court has directed to shut down all unlicensed brick kilns in Khagrachari, Bandarban and Rangamati districts of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) within the next seven days.
The HC bench of Justice JBM Hassan and Justice Fatema Najib passed the order on Sunday (25 January) afternoon.
They also issued a four-week rule on why action will not be directed under sections 4,5,14,18 of the Brick Kilns Control Act 2013.
The order came after the hearing of a writ petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB).
The petition named 24 persons including the environment secretary, the deputy commissioners and superintendents of police of the three districts, and chief executive officers of Guimara, Dighinala, Boalkhali and Alikadam Upazila as defendants.
Plaintiff's lawyer Advocate Manzil Morshed said according to the Brick Making and Kiln Installation Act-2010 (Amended 2019) section 4, no brick kiln can operate without a license.
"There is a provision of two years imprisonment related to such illegal activity as per section 14 of the law. Despite this, the administration is not taking any effective action against the unlicensed brick kilns in the CHT," he told The Business Standard.
"Moreover, section 5 of the law prohibits the use of hill cut soil in brick kilns but we are unable to prevent the use of this soil as raw materials," he added.
Manzil Morshed further said hill tracts are being destroyed because of the illegal kilns causing serious threat to the environment.
The HC also instructed the deputy commissioners of three districts, the director of the environment department of the Chattogram area and others concerned to prepare a list of all unlicensed brick kilns within the next six weeks and submit it to the court, he said.
