The Supreme Court today upheld its earlier verdict that had directed the authorities concerned to restore the wetland of Savar where Modhumoti Model Town has developed its housing project.

A seven-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain dismissed five review petitions against its earlier verdict.

On July 11, 2013, the Appellate Division of the apex court released the full text of its 159-page verdict directing Modhumoti Model Town owner Metro Makers and Developer Limited to restore within six months the wetland in Bilamalia and Bailarpur moujas of Savar where it has developed the project.

The apex court came up with the verdict to keep the area as a free-flood low zone and protect the capital city from waterlogging.

The company had developed the housing project filling in 550 acres of wetlands identified as floodplain in the 1997 Dhaka City Master Plan.

In September 2013, Metro Makers and Developer Limited and plot purchasers moved five separate petitions with the Supreme Court seeking review of its judgment.

READ MORE: Modhumoti is illegal

Syeda Rizwana Hasan, chief executive, Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA), told The Daily Star that Metro Makers and Developer Limited must remove Modhumoti Model Town in Savar to restore its wetland in six months following the Supreme Court order.