The High Court on Monday issued a stern warning to bureaucrats, declaring that negligence in protecting the environment would not be tolerated and action would be taken against officials failing to comply with court orders in this connection.
The bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Debasish Roy Chowdhury issued the warning while hearing a petition filed by the Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh, a legal aid organisation, seeking enforcement of the court鈥檚 previous rulings.
Divisional commissioners from Dhaka, Chattogram and Khulna along with deputy commissioners of Lalmonirhat and Kurigram and upazila nirbahi officers of Savar and Dhamrai appeared before the court in compliance with its January 29 order.
The directive follows the High Court鈥檚 November 13, 2022, verdict which instructed divisional commissioners to shut down illegal brickfields within seven days.
As authorities failed to implement the order, the court sought explanations.
鈥業f such failures continue in the future, strict action will be taken, and the court will not spare anyone,鈥� the court warned.
The court ordered the divisional commissioners and UNOs to submit separate affidavits by March 17, supporting a full compliance with its directives.
It also summoned five divisional commissioners from Mymensingh, Rangpur, Rajshahi, Barishal, and Sylhet and the director general of the Department of Environment to appear before the court on March 17 with reports detailing the demolition of illegal brickfields in their respective districts.
The High Court ordered the Gazipur DC to find an alternative site for waste disposal, as the city corporation has been dumping garbage along the Dhaka-Mymensingh road.
Justice Farah Mahbub observed that the waste piling up on both sides of the road poses severe health and environmental risks.
In response, the Gazipur DC admitted that no waste management plan was in place before the city was declared as a corporation. The court directed him to visit the site and take immediate action to protect public health and the environment.
Violating previous court orders, many illegal brickfields remain operational.
According to official reports, there were 976 illegal brick kilns in the Chattogram division. Of them, 249 were demolished.
The Khulna division had 1,203 brickfields 鈥� 211 legal, 886 illegal and 106 protected by pending writ petitions. Of the illegal brickfields, 386 were demolished.
In the Dhaka division, there are 32 illegal brickfields at Savar, 23 in Rajbari, 35 in Madaripur and 13 in Narsingdi.
In Gazipur, there were 75 illegal brick kilns, of with only seven were demolished.
Expressing concern over Bangladesh鈥檚 worsening pollution levels, the court noted that the country鈥檚 global reputation has been tarnished due to its ranking among the most polluted nations.
Manzill Murshid, the lawyer representing Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh, stated that the court was dissatisfied with the local administration鈥檚 failure to protect the environment.
He said that to combat illegal brick kiln operations and prevent the use of forest wood as fuel, the court in November 2022 ordered the formation of monitoring teams in all divisions within a week.
Authorities were asked to submit a compliance report within two weeks.
Manzill informed the court that instead of complying with the order, the divisional commissioners resubmitted their previous reports without taking any enforcement action.
He warned that illegal brick kilns resumed full-scale operations in the winter, further damaging the environment and public health because of inaction of the local administration.
Deputy attorney general Tanim Khan represented the state.
