The High Court today declared the construction of a house for Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) mayor by cutting a hill at Tigerpass in Chittagong illegal.

The HC bench of Justice Obaidul Hassan and Justice Krishna Debnath delivered the verdict after holding final hearing on a writ petition that said the CCC authorities have been constructing the house for its mayor at Tigerpass without taking permission from the authorities concerned.

The HC declared the construction of the house for CCC mayor by cutting hill at Tigerpass illegal, as the authorities were constructing the house without permission from Department of Environment (DOE) and the deputy commissioner of the district, petitioner's counsel Manzill Murshid told The Daily Star.

The house for the CCC mayor cannot be built in Tigerpass hill area following the HC verdict, he added.

The Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB) filed the writ petition in December 2014 saying that the CCC authorities have been constructing the house for its mayor at Tigerpass without permission from the DOE.

In the petition, the organisation prayed to the court to pass necessary orders to stop the construction and to protect the environment.

Following the petition, the HC on December 7, 2014, had directed the authorities concerned to maintain a status quo on construction of the house.