Dhaka, April 27 -- 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. ...