COX’S BAZAR Correspondent :A Tk 128 crore road construction project aimed at improving infrastructure along Cox’s Bazar’s sea beach has been stalled following a court order in a case filed by the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA), State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shah Alam has said.
The state minister made the remarks on Saturday during a meeting with a delegation from the Local Government Division after visiting Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar.
Mir Shah Alam said the government was working to transform Cox’s Bazar into an international-standard tourist city, but a series of legal obstacles were hampering various development initiatives.
“Cox’s Bazar is one of the most important places representing the country’s heritage and identity. The government is working to develop the area into an international-standard tourist destination,” he said.
He also said the process of upgrading Cox’s Bazar Municipality to a city corporation was being taken forward.
According to the state minister, the proposed road from Laboni Point along the beach to Kolatoli and onward in front of Hotel Ramada was part of a project under the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives. The project, estimated to cost around Tk 128 crore, had already gone through the tendering process.
However, just before construction was scheduled to begin, a petition was filed before the High Court, resulting in an injunction that halted the project, he said.
BELA had objected to the proposed road construction, citing the need to protect the beach environment and sand dunes. The organization approached the High Court over the proposed construction in an Ecologically Critical Area (ECA). Following a hearing, the court directed the local government authorities and the municipality to refrain from carrying out the road construction work.
The state minister alleged that a particular organization was repeatedly using court orders in a manner that was creating obstacles to government development projects.
“Whenever the government takes an initiative to modernize Cox’s Bazar city, an organization goes to the High Court and obtains an injunction against the implementation of development projects,” he said.
“If this continues, how can we develop Cox’s Bazar city?” he asked.
Mir Shah Alam also raised concerns over restrictions imposed by the Cox’s Bazar Development Authority (CoxDA). He said there were regulations prohibiting the construction of structures within 300 metres of the shoreline, while construction beyond 500 metres from the sea was subject to restrictions allowing only single-storey buildings.
The state minister said Cox’s Bazar receives a large number of tourists during the peak season, but the city does not have enough hotel rooms to accommodate them.
He stressed the need for effective coordination among all relevant authorities to improve tourism infrastructure and ensure better facilities for visitors.
The government has undertaken several development plans to turn Cox’s Bazar into a modern tourist city, he said, adding that repeated legal challenges and injunctions were making it difficult to implement those plans.
Earlier on Saturday, Mir Shah Alam visited a waste-to-energy project at a Rohingya camp in Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar.
During the visit, he said the government was taking initiatives to involve local government institutions in waste-to-energy projects and promote the use of renewable energy.
The government is giving serious consideration to generating electricity from waste, he said.
He also said solar power systems could be installed on the rooftops of local government buildings so that the institutions could meet their own electricity needs and supply surplus power to the national grid.
Cox’s Bazar-3 lawmaker Lutfor Rahman Kajal, Chattogram-14 lawmaker Jasim Uddin Ahmed and officials concerned were present during the camp visit and meeting.
