Dhaka: The High Court on Tuesday issued a contempt of court rule against 11 people, including four secretaries, for not complying with its earlier order to demolish illegal structures constructed at Saint Martin's Island without environmental clearance.

The HC bench of Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam and Justice Ashish Ranjan Das passed the order following a contempt of court petition filed by Bangladesh Environment Lawyers Association (Bela).

Those face the contempt of court rule are forest and environment, civil aviation and tourism, fisheries, and livestock and shipping secretaries, chairman of Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation, director general of Department of Environment (DoE), its director of Chittagong, deputy commissioner and superintendent of police of Chittagong, chief executive officer of Cox’s Bazar district council and chairman Saint Martin union parishad.

The court wanted to know why contempt of court proceedings should not be initiated against the respondents and why they should not be directed to explain their stance appearing in person before the court, , said Minhajul Haque Chowdhury who along with Sayeed Ahmed Kabir stood for Bela.

Following a writ petition filed by Bela in 2009, the HC on October 24, 2011 directed the respondents to demolish the buildings at the island, which have no environmental clearance, in 60 days after receiving the order.

Bela claimed that there are 106 structures without having any environmental clearance which are destroying alarmingly environment of the island.