Govt suspends lease of 17 stone quarries over environmental concerns

Taking into consideration environmental factors, the government has decided to suspend the leasing process of 17 out of 51 stone quarries in the country.

The decision came from a meeting at the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources with Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan in the chair. Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan, from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; and Adviser Lieutenant General (Retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, from the Ministries of Home Affairs and Agriculture, were also present.

As per what the government decided, no leases will be granted for quarries that are under court injunctions or located within declared Ecologically Critical Areas (ECAs), according to the environment ministry.

Moreover, to preserve the natural beauty, leasing activities in the Bhulagonj, Utmachaora, Ratanpur, Bichanakandi and Lovachora stone quarries of Sylhet district will also remain suspended, it said.

Before granting leases for other quarries, obtaining an Environmental Clearance Certificate from the Department of Environment will be mandatory, the environment ministry noted.

Local administrations have been directed to take legal action against the actual responsible persons involved in illegal stone extraction, rather than targeting the workers. Besides, illegally extracted stones must not be sold; instead, they will be supplied for government construction works through customs, it added.

Adviser Rizwana emphasised that such steps would protect the environment and public interest, ensuring the lawful use of natural resources like sand and stones. Supplying illegally extracted stones through customs for government use would also help curb illegal extraction.

She also mentioned that overcoming previous limitations, the Department of Environment is now better prepared to take appropriate measures to protect the environment and ecosystems.

Earlier in February 2020, the Energy and Mineral Resources Division of the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources suspended stone extraction from all stone quarries until further notice.

Later, in January 2025, a decision was made to lift the suspension, which raised concerns from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Consequently, Sunday’s meeting resulted in these new decisions.

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