No stone crushing zone in Sylhet even 4 years after HC directive

A separate zone for stone crushing machines in Sylhet has not been created in more than four years despite the High Court's direction to do so to protect the environment and public health from pollution.

In January 2017, a High Court bench of Justice Salma Masud Chowdhury and Justice Qazi Md Ijarul Haque Akand passed an order directing to set up a separate zone for all the stone crushing machines in Sylhet. The court asked the deputy commissioner to implement the decision within three months and to stop all the illegal machines.

According to the Stone Crushing Machine Setup Policy-2006, no stone mills can be set up within 500 metres of any hospital and educational institution, 100 metres of any residential area or 50 metres of any highway.

However, most of the stone crushing machines in Sylhet violate the rules.

There are three stone crushing machines around Balapunji Government Primary School in the Gowainghat Upazila. The loud sound and thick dust produced during stone crushing make life miserable for the people living in the area especially for the students. 

The educational activities are disrupted in the school due to the situation. Students also get frequently ill due to the noise and dust pollution.

One of the teachers of the school said on condition of anonymity that the doors and windows of the school have to be kept closed even during the day. Dust and noise continue to disrupt the classrooms.

Dust from numerous stone crushing machines set up beside the road in the Dhopagul area of Sylhet Sadar even spread to the protected area of the Osmani International Airport. The passengers commuting through the road also suffer from this thick blanket of dust.

Not only these two areas, but around 1,500 stone crushing machines are also active in Sadar, Kompaniganj, Gowainghat, Jaintapur, Dakshin Surma and Kanaighat upazilas in Sylhet. 

In many cases, these machines are being operated by destroying residential areas and agricultural lands. None of them has environmental clearance. These illegal machines have become a threat to the environment and public health due to noise and air pollution.

Kazi Emdadul Islam, deputy commissioner of Sylhet, said, "We have sent a proposal to the ministry concerned to determine the place for setting up the stone crusher zone as per the court order. The decision is still at the policy-making stage."

According to the Sylhet Divisional Office of the Department of Environment, crushing stones is essential for use in construction. The environment ministry formulated a policy in 2006 to legitimise stone crushing. In 2013, the ministry issued a separate policy as these open-air machines cause extensive damage to the environment and public health.

The first condition for setting up a stone crushing machine as per Stone Crushing Machine Installation Policy (revised 2013) was to set up a stone crushing zone.

Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (Bela) filed a writ petition in the High Court in 2015 alleging that stone crushing machines are causing an environmental disaster by ignoring this policy. In the light of this writ, the court directed to create a stone crushing zone. 

Shah Shaheda Akhter, coordinator of Bela in Sylhet, said, "The district administration had taken initiative to create a zone first in Jaintapur and later in Gowainghat following the direction of the court. However, the initiative saw no progress."

In 2015, Bela's writ petition stated that 606 stone crushing machines were operating without permission in five upazilas of Sylhet. In the last six years, the number has exceeded 1,500, according to Bela.

In 2013, a team of the district administration started fieldwork to make a zone for stone crushers. A preliminary survey was conducted to establish a zone in the Dibir haor area of Jaintapur upazila. A proposal in this regard was sent to the ministry in December 2015.

However, environmentalists opposed the decision as the area is a tourist spot. The stone traders also expressed their dissatisfaction over the remoteness of the place. 

In 2018, the district administration sent a proposal to the ministry allocating a place next to Tamabil land port in Gowainghat to create the stone crusher zone.

Masud Ahmad Chowdhury, former president of Sylhet Stone Crusher Owners Association, said, "It was not possible to set up stone crusher machines in line with environmental norms. Environmental guidelines state that no house, school or hospital can be located in the surrounding 500 acres of a stone crusher. Where can such a place be found in the country?"

He said, "If all the machines are stopped, there would be a huge stone crisis in the country. Disaster will come down in this sector. So, the decision has to be made considering all the aspects."

"We have no objection to the decision of making a crushing zone. However, it should be in a convenient place for traders as well," he added.