The High Court on Tuesday directed the chairman of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority to form a monitoring committee to prevent industrial waste and polluted water from being discharged into the Sitalakhya River in Narayanganj.
The court also asked the BIWTA chair to submit a report within two weeks outlining effective measures taken to stop the dumping of industrial effluents and solid waste into the river.
In another directive, the court ordered the government authorities to form another committee, comprising representatives from the ministry of environment, forest and climate change, to assess the extent of pollution and environmental damage caused to the Sitalakhya.
The committee must submit its report within three months.
The bench of Justice Fahmida Quader and Justice Mubina Asaf passed the order while hearing a public interest writ petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh.
The petition was based on reports published in several national dailies highlighting unchecked dumping of industrial wastes into the river, posing a serious threat to public health and biodiversity, according to lawyer Manzill Murshid, also the HRPB president.
The court issued another rule asking the authorities to explain in four weeks why their failure to act against the polluters should not be declared illegal.
It further asked why the authorities responsible should not be directed to take legal action against those polluting the river and to recover compensation from the industries responsible for the contamination.
Manzill Murshid told 抖阴精品 that the directive to protect the Sitalakhya River came after both government authorities and industries ignored the High Court鈥檚 earlier order to safeguard the Buriganga River 鈥� the lifeline of the capital 鈥� from pollution.
Earlier, on January 20, 2020, the High Court directed the Department of Environment to immediately shut down 231 illegal industries operating near the Buriganga River within Dhaka鈥檚 metropolitan area for lacking environmental clearance.
The bench of Justice Gobinda Chandra Tagore and Justice Mohammad Ullah had issued the directive while hearing another writ petition filed also by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh, seeking a judicial intervention to save the Buriganga from ongoing pollution and encroachment.
The court also ordered the Dhaka Wasa, Titas Gas, and Dhaka Power Distribution Company to disconnect utility services 鈥� including water, gas, and electricity 鈥� to these industries, and to report their compliance to the DoE.
The DoE was instructed to submit a compliance report by February 20, confirming that the court鈥檚 order had been implemented.
In a broader directive, the court asked the DoE to submit a comprehensive report within three months identifying all industries and institutions across Dhaka city operating without valid environmental clearance certificates.
Additionally, the local administrations have been ordered to take immediate steps to stop the dumping of wastes into the Buriganga River and to file a report on their compliance by February 20.
DoE lawyer Amatul Karim then submitted a preliminary report stating that the department had identified 231 industrial units near the Buriganga operating without any environmental permits, in a clear violation of environmental regulations.
