The High Court Division of the Supreme Court has ordered the closure of all illegal brick kilns across Bangladesh, directing divisional commissioners and the Director General of the Department of Environment to take immediate action. The court also instructed the authorities to submit a compliance report detailing the progress of the directive by December 14.
The order was issued by the relevant High Court bench on Thursday, November 12. As part of the directive, every divisional commissioner and the Director General of the Department of Environment have been instructed to identify illegal brick kilns within their respective jurisdictions and take effective measures to shut them down.
Scope of the Court's Directive
The court stated that all brick kilns operating without legal validity and causing environmental harm must be closed immediately. No negligence or delay will be tolerated in this regard. Divisional commissioners and the Department of Environment chief have been tasked with executing these responsibilities and reporting back to the court on the progress.Legal Process and Next Steps
Following the court's order, coordinated operations between the Department of Environment and local administration are expected to be launched. Although directives to close illegal brick kilns have been issued previously, a lack of effective enforcement allowed environmental pollution to persist. With the High Court's latest directive, swift administrative action is now anticipated.A deadline of December 14 has been set for submitting the compliance report to the court. The report must specify how many illegal brick kilns have been shut down and what measures are being taken to close the remaining ones.
