Dhaka, April 28 -- Due to environmental considerations, it has been decided to suspend the lease of 17 out of the 51 stone quarries in the country. There is a court ban and leases cannot be granted in any stone quarry declared as an Environmentally Critical Area (ECA).

In addition, in the interest of protecting natural beauty, the lease activities in Bholaganj, Utmachara, Ratanpur, Bichanakandi and Lovachhara stone quarries of Sylhet district will be suspended.

This decision was taken at a meeting on the management of gazetted stone/silicabal/nuri stone/white clay quarries across the country on Sunday (April 27) in the meeting room of the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, chaired by Advisor Muhammad Fauzul Kabir Khan.

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