St. Martin’s Island: Resorts rise one after another as Keya forests, coconut trees are cleared

At least 12 new resorts and cottages are being built on Saint Martin’s Island, a coral-rich ecologically critical island. Local representatives and residents of the island said construction of these resorts and cottages began after the 13th parliamentary election. Yet construction of all types of structures is prohibited on the island.

According to officials of the Department of Environment, more than 70 new resorts were built on the island before the fall of the Awami League government. During the interim government’s tenure, the Department of Environment took various measures against these resorts, including filing cases and imposing fines. Administrative action had largely halted the construction of new resorts and cottages at the time.

After visiting the area and speaking to locals, it has been learnt that construction work increases during adverse weather after the tourist season ends, when maritime communication between Teknaf and the island remains almost cut off. New structures are being built after clearing Keya (Pandanus tectorius) forests and coconut trees, while sand and limestone are being taken from the beach for construction and infrastructure is being developed in an unplanned manner.

After tourist numbers were restricted two years ago, some life had returned to the island’s natural environment. However, that positive change is once again under threat due to the construction of structures one after another.

According to data from the Department of Environment and various environmental organisations, more than 230 hotels, resorts and cottages have been built on Saint Martin’s over the past three decades. Including the structures built during the final period of the Awami League government and those currently under construction, the number will exceed 300.

Meanwhile, a Tk 89 million project is being implemented to protect Saint Martin’s biodiversity and address the impacts of climate change. However, questions remain over how effective the project will be if illegal construction continues.

On 8 August, State Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shaikh Faridul Islam visited Saint Martin’s and held a meeting with local representatives, members of civil society and media workers. He instructed the Department of Environment to take stricter action to stop the construction of illegal resorts and cottages.

When contacted on 28 August night, the state minister told Prothom Alo, “These unplanned hotels, motels and resorts are a threat to the environment of Saint Martin’s. During my visit, I instructed the Cox’s Bazar Development Authority, the district administration and the Department of Environment to take action against them.”

An investigation found that although there are strict restrictions on taking construction materials to the island, bricks, sand, rods and cement are reaching the island through various means. There are also allegations that some of the construction materials taken from Teknaf for development projects are being used to build or sold to hotels and resorts.

Locals allege that most of the owners of the resorts and cottages are from outside Cox’s Bazar districts. Some of them are also politically influential people. They also allege that local BNP leaders and activists and influential individuals are involved in supervising construction work on the island, supplying workers and transporting construction materials.

Saint Martin’s is Bangladesh’s only coral island and an important habitat for the country’s marine biodiversity.

According to the Department of Environment, the island once had around 1,076 species of biodiversity. It was a safe habitat for corals, marine turtles, algae, snails and oysters, and various species of migratory birds. Many species have disappeared over the past two decades due to plastic pollution and unplanned infrastructure development.

Now, under a project being implemented by the Department of Environment, work is underway to create and expand Keya forests along the beach and adjacent sand dunes. Keya fruits are being collected to produce seedlings for this purpose. Keya forests act as a natural barrier, protecting the island from tidal surges and cyclones while also helping retain sand.

The project also includes protecting habitats for corals, marine algae, red crabs and migratory birds, creating mangrove forests and developing a suitable environment for marine turtles to lay eggs. There is also an initiative to collect turtle eggs, hatch them and release the hatchlings into the sea.

According to the Department of Environment, Saint Martin’s was declared an ecologically critical area on 19 April 1999. The extraction of limestone, snails, oysters and coral-algae from the areas surrounding the island was banned. Although construction of all types of structures was also prohibited, illegal construction did not stop.

After 5 August 2024, the interim government restricted tourist travel to Saint Martin’s. From November to January, tourists are allowed to visit the island through online registration, with 2,000 tourists permitted each day. During the rest of the year, the island remains almost devoid of tourists.

A total of 237,000 tourists visited the island over the past two seasons, less than half the number three years ago. Although this has led to some improvement in the environment, the Keya forests cannot be protected. New resort and cottage construction is now underway.

Prothom Alo Correspondent visited various areas of Saint Martin’s with State Minister for Environment Shaikh Faridul Islam on 8 August and 9 August. Construction of a new resort or cottage was seen in the Uttra Pare, two in Dakkhin Para, two in Purba Para, four in Galachipa and three in Konarpara.

In some places, roofs of buildings were being cast; in others, pillars were being erected, while elsewhere one cottage after another was being built with tin and brick walls. Local beach sand and valuable limestone are being used as raw materials for these structures. Keya forests are being cleared, damaging the island’s environment.

The Department of Environment’s office in the Galachipa area of Saint Martin’s Island is called ‘Marine Park’. A visit to the site found that construction of the ‘Sandy Beach Resort’ was underway inside a tin-fenced area to the north of the park. Roof casting work was underway on a two-storey building on one side, while 10 cottages had been built on the other using bricks, cement and wood.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a worker said the resort is owned by an influential leader from Dhaka. On that person’s behalf, the construction work is being supervised by Abdur Rahman, Senior Vice President of the St. Martin's Union BNP, and his nephew, BNP activist Md. Ayash. Ziyabul Haque, convener of Saint Martin Union Jubo Dal supplies bricks, sand and cement for the resort, he added.

Md Ayash told Prothom Alo that the resort is owned by a person from Dhaka named Imtiaz. He said they are overseeing Imtiaz’s work and supplying workers. Bricks, sand, cement and rods are being supplied by Union Chhatra Dal general secretary Md Shakil, Union Parishad Chairman Foyezul Islam and several others, he said.

Ayash added that he does not know where the bricks, sand, cement and rods are being sourced.

Ayash said Ziyabul Haque is constructing another resort south of Marine Park. Following his directions, a visit to an area about one kilometre south of Marine Park found the resort under construction beside the road. Four cottages, enclosed by red corrugated iron sheets and brick walls, have been built beside the road, while preparations are under way to construct six more. Around 30 to 35 workers were seen collecting sand from the nearby beach and filling sacks with it to raise the land.

Workers involved in the construction said the resort is owned by a former MP from Faridpur, though they could not identify him. They said Jubo Dal leader Ziyabul Haque and his elder brother Ishaque Mahmud Chowdhury are overseeing the construction on his behalf.

Attempts were made to contact Abdur Rahman and Ziyabul Haque over the allegations. They could not be found at their homes and did not respond to phone calls.

Abdul Aziz, an environmental activist who oversees ongoing projects under the Department of Environment’s Saint Martin office, said senior officials had been informed of the matter. However, he said the officials were unable to visit the island because the Bay of Bengal remains rough.

Another cottage is being constructed in Diarmatha in the southern part of the island, surrounded by green corrugated iron sheets. Although there is no signboard identifying it, locals know it as the ‘UNO Cottage’. There is speculation in the area that a former Teknaf upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) purchased the land. However, workers could not identify the former UNO.

A visit to the site found 16 pillars being constructed for the cottage. Sand and limestone collected from the beach were being stockpiled there. Abdul Shukkur, an influential local figure, had previously been overseeing the construction, according to workers. After the BNP came to power, he was replaced by Jubo Dal leader Ziyabul Haque, they said.

The workers said Ziyabul himself purchases the bricks, sand, cement and rods used in the construction.

Another resort, ‘The Last Wave’, is being constructed in the central part of the island. There are concerns that the land on the western side of the resort could be washed away by tidal water. Workers are digging up sand from the beach, filling sacks with it and using them to build a protective embankment around the resort. Seven cottages are being constructed inside.

A worker said the tourist season will begin on 1 November and construction is being rushed to complete the resort before then.

On Saint Martin’s western beach, another resort named ‘CCTV Resort’ is located behind popular novelist Humayun Ahmed’s Samudra Bilash. A little further north, another resort is being constructed after several coconut trees were cut down. The first-floor roof of the building named ‘Sun and Beach Resort’ has been cast, while pillars for the second floor are being erected.

The resort is owned by a Dhaka-based individual, while BNP leader Abdur Rahman and activist Md Ayash are overseeing its construction. Abdur Rahman said they were building the resort in the same way as everyone else was ‘managing’ their way through the process, but declined to elaborate.

Md Alamgir, joint convener of Saint Martin Union Jubo Dal, did not deny that party leaders and activists were involved in construction work on the island. He told Prothom Alo that influential people from Dhaka were constructing resorts and cottages on the island under the patronage of several BNP leaders, including Jubo Dal convener Ziyabul Haque and Chhatra Dal general secretary Shakil. BNP and Jubo Dal leaders were supplying construction materials, he said.

Such activities are tarnishing the party's image, and beach sand and limestone are being used for land filling and pillar construction, Alamgir said.

Nurul Alam, president of the Saint Martin Union BNP, told Prothom Alo that three leaders from the BNP, Jubo Dal and Chhatra Dal were assisting with construction work on the island. He said there were allegations that construction materials brought for development projects were being used to build resorts and cottages.

Foyezul Islam, acting chairman of Saint Martin Union Parishad, said no permission had been granted to construct resorts or cottages in different parts of the island. All the cottages and resorts being constructed are illegal, he said.

He added that the owners usually approach the union parishad for trade licences after completing construction so they can operate their businesses, but he was not issuing such licences.

Construction materials cannot be transported from Teknaf to Saint Martin’s without written permission from the upazila nirbahi officer (UNO). Local residents allege that despite this restriction, some of the construction materials brought by trawlers from Teknaf for rural infrastructure development projects are being sold to hotel and resort owners.

For a guide wall and reinforced cement concrete (RCC) casting project from the Roksana Resort gate to the women’s madrasa in Ward 4, 2,000 bricks, 20 sacks of cement and a large quantity of sand were brought from Teknaf on 16 June. The project had not started as of 13 August.

Md Al Noman, a Union Parishad member and chairman of the project committee, said the materials were in his custody. He said work had been delayed because of the monsoon and waterlogging.

Another 2,500 bricks, 130 feet of stone chips, 35 bags of cement, 200 feet of sand and 150kg of rods were brought on 7 July for another guide wall and RCC casting project in North Para of Ward 2. No progress was visible at the site during a visit on 9 August.

Mahfuza Akhter, a Union Parishad member and chairperson of the project committee, said work could not begin because of rain and that the construction materials were stored in a warehouse.

She said that a brick building is being built beside the Department of Environment office, and cottage-resorts are being constructed in other areas of the island as well. Everyone is seeing it, except the Department of Environment is not. Right before their eyes, the island's biodiversity is being destroyed.

It has been learnt through inquiries that construction materials including bricks, cement, rods, stone chips and sand had recently been brought to the island for development projects in the names of Saint Martin Union Parishad Acting Chairman Foyzul Islam and two other Union Parishad members. However, there has been no visible progress on the projects.

Nurul Alam, president of the local BNP, alleged that some of the construction materials brought by trawler from Teknaf with the Upazila Nirbahi Officer’s (UNO) permission for development projects were being sold at higher prices. “This should be investigated,” he said.

However, the acting chairman of Saint Martin Union Parishad claimed that the allegation that he had sold project bricks, cement and rods to a hotel-resort owner was baseless.

Teknaf UNO SM Anik Chowdhury told Prothom Alo that the Department of Environment was responsible for monitoring who was constructing hotels, resorts and cottages on Saint Martin’s Island. He said estimates had been prepared for the quantities of bricks, cement, rods and sand required for all development projects being implemented on the island. “Permission is being given to take construction materials to the island based on those estimates. If anyone sells the materials or fails to carry out the work, an investigation will expose it, and action will then be taken,” he said.

In addition to the newly constructed facilities, renovation work is also under way at resorts and cottages built earlier in different parts of the island. Visits to at least 16 resorts including Tropicana Beach Resort in Konarpara, Jol Kuti Resort, Dakshina Hawa Resort, Aarannyak Ecoresort and Fantasy Hotel in Galachipa, Euro Bangla Resort, Hotel Fantasy, Hotel Sea Probal, Labiba Atlantic Resort, Sun Rise Resort and Shatabdi Eco found that builders had used natural limestone, coral stones and sand from the beach in the construction work.

Owners and managers of three resorts told Prothom Alo on condition of anonymity, “These infrastructures were built by ‘managing things at every checkpoint’.”

They claimed that leaders of local political parties and influential individuals supplied bricks, sand, cement and rods. They also alleged that construction work did not stop even when the Department of Environment filed cases.

Local residents alleged that developers were also taking advantage of the limited maritime communication between the island and Teknaf during adverse weather. As government officials have a reduced presence during such periods, construction work continues without obstruction, they said.

Abdullah Al Noman, sub-inspector (SI) and in-charge of the Saint Martin police outpost, said officers of the Department of Environment themselves investigate cases filed by the department. “As a result, even when hotels and resorts are built in an ecologically critical area, there is not much the police can do directly,” he said. He added that the outpost has only four police personnel to cover the entire island.

On 24 October 2011, the High Court ordered the demolition of all structures built on Saint Martin’s Island without environmental clearance. The court also directed the authorities to protect aquatic wildlife and take action against those responsible under the Environment Conservation Act.

Following the publication of a report by Prothom Alo in 2017, the Department of Environment issued notices for the demolition of 38 illegally constructed hotels. At the time, the department reported that the island had 104 residential hotels, motels and cottages. None of them had environmental clearance.

Subsequently, authorities conducted drives and removed more than 50 illegal structures. Three hotels were fined, while construction of one cottage was halted.

During the last tourist season, the Department of Environment’s mobile courts fined 15 establishments Tk 305,000 for allegations including tree felling, encroachment on beaches and sand dunes, extraction of sand and coral stone, and operating generators at high volume. Authorities also seized 1,000kg of coral stone and 10 sacks of cement from a resort under construction.

Over five years, the Department of Environment filed eight cases with Teknaf police station, naming the owners and managers of 31 resorts and making another 20 to 25 people accused in the cases without identifying them by name.

Earlier, the department had conducted enforcement operations against the owners of 72 illegally constructed resorts and cottages over nine months during two years of tourist seasons and assessed compensation amounting to Tk 36.8 million (3.68 crore). However, the department said it had been unable to recover most of the money because of legal complications and appeals.

Kamrul Hasan, director of the Saint Martin’s Island Biodiversity and Climate Change Adaptation Project, said they had to manage the project’s activities with limited manpower. He said the Cox’s Bazar office of the Department of Environment was responsible for monitoring illegal construction and the extraction of sand and stone.

Khandaker Mahmud Pasha, deputy director of the Cox’s Bazar office of the Department of Environment, said maritime communication with Saint Martin’s Island had been suspended because of adverse weather.

“Taking advantage of this situation, several resorts and cottages are being constructed. Once the tourist season begins on 1 November, officials will visit the island and take action against illegal construction,” he said.

When contacted, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, former environment adviser to the interim government, told Prothom Alo, “The unfortunate thing is that during the election, we heard candidates saying that people’s needs should be given greater importance than those of crabs and turtles. Such a philosophy is a major obstacle to saving Saint Martin’s Island. Therefore, protecting the island from the malign economic grip of outsiders requires political goodwill, as well as a firm stance and clear directives from the government.”

Rizwana Hasan said the administration must issue strict directives to protect Saint Martin’s Island. “Action must be taken against these illegal hotels and motels in accordance with court orders,” she said. However, she noted that the district administration had a particularly important role to play in this regard. “If the district administration does not cooperate, the Department of Environment cannot play an effective role,” she said.