Latest update April 18th, 2025 8:12 AM
BK loses lawsuit filed against ‘Shell’ quarrying licence
Owner of BK Quarries, Brian Tiwarie and Nazar “Shell” Mohammed, Proprietor of Hadi’s World Inc.
Kaieteur News – BK Quarries on Monday lost a lawsuit it filed against the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over the granting of four quarry licences to Nazar ‘Shell’ Mohamed’s company, Hadi’s World Inc. in 2021.
BK Quarries had contended that the granting of the licenses to Hadi’s World Inc. was not in compliance with the law. Hadi’s World Inc. has always maintained that it followed “all the requisite legal channels” in obtaining the licences and on Monday the High Court agreed.
High Court Judge, Justice Gino Peter Persaud after dismissing the case said in his ruling that the applicant BK Quarries failed to prove its grounds for “judicial review, legitimate expectation or any breach thereof”. He said too that the decisions of the GGMC, EPA and EAB were not unlawful, unfair, unreasonable, arbitrary or in breach of the rules of natural justice.
As result, BK Quarries was ordered to pay all legal costs (a total of $1.5M) expended by the respondents within six-week duration of the case. There were three main respondents in the case, GGMC, EPA and Hadi’s World Inc. – a total of $500,000 will have to be paid to each of the respondents.
BK Quarries in the lawsuit was seeking an injunction to prevent Hadi’s World from occupying or taking any steps to develop some 16,500 acres of land along the Mazuruni River, Region Seven. Hadi’s World was granted four quarrying licences by the GGMC.
According to BK Quarries, GGMC and the EPA took the decision to fully permit and issue the licences to Hadi’s World, despite several objections raised by the company. The lawsuit was filed just one day after the licenses were granted.
The lawsuit which was filed by attorney, Siand Dhurjon, explained that the Notices of Intention to grant quarry licences were published in the Official Gazette without the approval of the Board of the GGMC as is required under law.
It had also alleged that the EPA illegally waived the requirement for Hadi’s World Inc. to have to perform an assessment of the environmental impact of the four quarrying operations over 16,500 acres of land for the reason that the quarry operations ‘would not significantly impact the environment’.
It had stated that the EPA arrived at this decision in spite of the understanding that the quarry operations of Hadi’s World would require the clearing of over a thousand acres of vegetation and the use of explosives to destroy the face of the land.
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