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The High Court has directed all divisional commissioners and the director general of the Department of Environment to shut down illegal brick kilns across the country and submit a compliance report by December 14.
A bench comprising Justice JBM Hassan and Justice Aziz Ahmed Bhuiyan issued the order on Thursday (November 12), granting an application filed by the Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB).
The court directed the authorities to take action against all illegal brick kilns in line with its previous orders and report on the implementation within the stipulated deadline.
Senior lawyers Manzil Morshed, Md Sarwar Ahad Chowdhury, Sanjay Mandal and Nasrin Sultana represented the petitioner. Advocate Mohammad Ali appeared for the brick kiln owners, while Muntasir Uddin Ahmed represented the Department of Environment.
According to the lawyers, the High Court issued a rule on November 13, 2022, directing action against illegal brick kilns. It subsequently ordered the authorities to complete the process of removing the illegal establishments and submit a report.
The Brick Kiln Owners’ Association later sought modifications to the order. However, the court maintained its direction to shut down illegal kilns and report on the action taken.
Following the order, eviction drives began. The kiln owners subsequently sought an exemption for zigzag brick kilns. After hearing their application, another High Court bench, led by Justice Farah Mahbub, modified aspects of the order but upheld the direction to remove illegal brick kilns.
Several kiln owners later filed appeals seeking a stay on the order, but no stay was granted by the Chamber Judge. The appeals were subsequently dismissed by the Appellate Division.
HRPB moved the latest application after receiving reports that some illegal brick kiln owners were attempting to resume operations.
After hearing the parties, the court granted the application and directed the authorities to enforce its previous orders against all illegal brick kilns nationwide.