The High Court on Monday directed divisional commissioners to take decisive action in ensuring a pollution-free environment, emphasising their duty to enforce environmental laws.
鈥楨very citizen is directly connected to the environment,鈥� the bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Debasish Roy Chowdhury told the divisional commissioners.
The court scheduled further orders for Tuesday on a writ petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh, which sought the implementation of its November 13, 2022, verdict instructing divisional commissioners and the Department of Environment to shut down illegal brickfields within seven days.
The directive came as five divisional commissioners from Mymensingh, Rangpur, Rajshahi, Barishal, and Sylhet appeared before the court in response to a summons issued on February 24.
The court also instructed DoE director general Md Kamruzzaman to submit an updated list of both legal and illegal brickfields nationwide to facilitate action against unauthorised operations.
Expressing grave concern over environmental degradation, the court observed, 鈥楾he country鈥檚 environment remains under constant threat, and so does our very existence.鈥�
In response, the DoE chief cited several challenges in cracking down on illegal brickfields.
He stated that enforcement efforts were often stalled when owners presented stay orders or claimed their cases were pending in court.
He further highlighted resource constraints, noting that bulldozing a single illegal brickfield costs at least Tk 70,000鈥攁n amount difficult to allocate within the department鈥檚 limited budget. Additionally, he pointed out that without support from deputy commissioners, law enforcement agencies and mobile courts, enforcement remained ineffective.
Kamruzzaman also informed the court about a recent attack on the DoE鈥檚 director for enforcement in Dhaka, which led to his transfer, leaving the post vacant.
Acknowledging these obstacles, the court asked the DoE chief to submit a detailed report on the department鈥檚 challenges so that necessary judicial directives could be issued.
The High Court also directed the Dhaka divisional commissioner to identify an alternative site for waste disposal, as the Gazipur City Corporation has been dumping garbage along the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway.
The court instructed the commissioner to visit the site and take immediate action to protect public health and the environment, stating that the waste dumping presents Bangladesh in a negative light to foreign nationals.
Additional attorney general Aneek R Haque represented the divisional commissioners, lawyer Muntasir Uddin Ahmed appeared for the DoE director general, and lawyer Manzill Murshid represented the HRPB.
