As part of a public hearing demanding the protection of Panthakunja Park and the Hatirjheel reservoir, the Bangladesh Tree Protection Movement organized an event titled “The Panthakunja trial: The people vs the interim government.”
The panel of judges includes Dr Gitiara Nasreen, member of the Media Reform Commission; Shamsi Ara Zaman, general secretary of the July Shaheed Smrity Foundation; Professor Anu Muhammad, editor of Sarbojonkotha; Dr Iftekharuzzaman, head of the Anti-Corruption Reform Commission; and Jyotirmoy Barua, convener of the Life-Nature Protection Platform.
Also present at the public hearing were Sharmeen S Murshid, Social Welfare adviser; Shirin Parveen Haque, head of the Women’s Reform Commission; and Firoz Ahmed, member of the Constitution Reform Commission.
Participants included Professor Tanzimuddin Khan of the University of Dhaka (DU); Associate Professor and theatre activist Samina Lutfa Nitra; cultural activist Arup Rahee; and workers from various social and cultural organizations.
Representing the plaintiffs were activists from the Bangladesh Tree Protection Movement.
The defendants were expected to include advisers from the Ministries of Housing and Public Works, Road Transport and Bridges, and Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
The executive director of the Bangladesh Bridge Authority, the chairman of Rajuk, the project director of the Dhaka Elevated Expressway, and the director general of the Department of Environment were also expected to attend, but none of them were present.
The session began with Amirul Rajib, coordinator of the organizing body, presenting various allegations of corruption related to the Dhaka Elevated Expressway project.
Naimul Hasan, another coordinator and public prosecutor representing the plaintiff side, highlighted the project’s environmental significance.
They said that the Bridge Division had undertaken the construction of a connecting road from FDC to Palashi under the Dhaka Elevated Expressway project, which led to part of the Hatirjheel water reservoir being filled in and the felling of over 2,000 trees from around 40 species in Panthakunja Park.
According to them, no new environmental clearance was obtained for the project, and an expired clearance was used instead.
The ongoing construction has violated two separate court orders.
The project is expected to negatively impact the environment and transport systems around Hatirjheel, Panthakunja Park, and the Kataban–Nilkhet–Palashi area, including the campuses of the DU and Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet).
They also warned that traffic congestion would likely worsen at various junctions due to the expressway ramps.
Judge Dr Iftekharuzzaman remarked that having laws is not enough—unless government departments cultivate a culture of compliance, it becomes impossible to hold others accountable to the law.
Chief Judge Professor Gitiara Nasreen said that the plaintiff side has been holding a sit-in protest for 168 consecutive days against serious violations of public interest by the three ministries involved.
She said that the panel reviewed six specific allegations raised against the defendants, which include:
- Economic manipulation and violation of PPP policy
- Breach of the constitution, laws, and court directives
- Use of expired environmental clearances and violation of conditions
- Discriminatory contracts and corrupt, anti-public interest projects
- Threats to citizen safety and immunity for foreign companies
- Deaths and reproductive disruptions of birds, bats, and insects
In the final ruling, Gitiara Nasreen declared Panthakunja Park open for public use and ordered the suspension of the ongoing sit-in protest.
The defendants and the home affairs adviser were instructed to ensure unrestricted public access to the park and maintain law and order.
All construction activities related to the connecting road were declared suspended until the court’s verdict is implemented and contracts with foreign companies are reconsidered.
