Protection of 2 City Lakes

HC asks Rajuk to submit report on steps by June 2

5 May 2010, 18:00 PM

Staff Correspondent

The High Court (HC) yesterday directed the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) to submit its report by June 2 on what steps it has taken to protect Gulshan-Baridhara and Gulshan-Banani lakes in the city following its verdict delivered in July last year. The court on July 14 last year directed Rajuk to conduct surveys to demarcate the lakes and identify and evict all illegal occupants and remove temporary and permanent structures on the lakes. It had ruled that the surveys and evictions must be done by January 31, 2010. It also directed Rajuk to submit a report to the court on the implementation of the directives by February 25, 2010, and also ruled that the government and Rajuk would have the liberty to take legal actions against encroachers and illegal occupants by filing compensation suits against the perpetrators. The HC directives came after Kazi M Mosharraf Hussain, executive secretary of Gulshan Society, a registered development organisation, filed a writ petition in this regard in May last year. The HC bench of Justice Md Mamtaz Uddin Ahmed and Justice Naima Haider yesterday passed the order following an application filed by the writ petitioner. Barrister ABM Siddiqur Rahman Khan moved for the petitioner while Deputy Attorney General Mostafa Zaman Islam stood for the government.