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Considering environmental factors, the government has decided to suspend the leasing process of 17 stone quarries (out of 51) in the country.
No lease will be granted for the quarries that are under court injunctions or located within the declared Ecologically Critical Areas (ECAs), according to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
Additionally, to preserve natural beauty, the leasing activities of Bhulagonj, Utmachaora, Ratanpur, Bichhanakandi and Lovachora stone quarries in Sylhet will also remain suspended.
The decisions were taken in a meeting, held at the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources on Sunday. It was chaired by Adviser Muhammad Faozul Kabir Khan.
Environment Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan and Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (Retd) Md. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury were also present.
The meeting further decided that before granting lease for other quarries, obtaining an environmental clearance certificate from the Department of Environment will be mandatory.
Local administrations have been directed to take legal actions against the key persons involved in illegal stone extraction syndicate, rather than targeting the workers.
Additionally, illegally extracted stones must not be sold. Instead, these will be supplied for the government construction works through customs, it added.
The environment adviser emphasised that such steps would protect the environment and public interest, ensuring lawful use of natural resources, like sand and stones. Supplying illegally extracted stones for the government projects through customs would also help curb illegal stone extraction.
She also mentioned that overcoming the previous limitations, the Department of Environment is now better prepared to take appropriate measures to protect the country's environment and ecosystems.
In February 2020, the Energy and Mineral Resources Division had suspended stone extraction from all the quarries until further notice.
In January 2025, a decision was made to lift the suspension, which raised concerns from the Ministry of Environment. Consequently, Sunday's meeting resulted in these new decisions.
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