THE non-compliance of the authorities to adequately enforce the nine directives that the High Court issued in January 2020 to curb air pollution in Dhaka is unacceptable. The non-compliance has contributed to the worsening of Dhaka鈥檚 air, routinely ranked in the worst category in the world. The High Court, which expressed dissatisfaction about the non-compliance, on January 12, once again asked the government to fully implement the nine-point directives. In the directives, the High Court asked the police to ensure that all trucks, carriers or vehicles transporting sand, mud, dust or waste are properly covered to prevent spillage. It also tasked the police with seizing vehicles emitting black smoke beyond the permissible limit. The court also asked the Dhaka鈥檚 north and south city authorities and the Rajdhani Unnayan Katripakkha to ensure that construction materials, including sand, mud, cement and stones, are securely covered by contractors or authorities. It also asked the city corporations to spray water on roads twice a day to control dust pollution and to oversee road construction and excavation projects to ensure strict compliance with laws, tender terms and environmental guidelines. The city authorities were also asked to ensure that market owners and shopkeepers store daily waste in safe bags for disposal.
The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority was also asked to set the economic lifespan, as per Section 36 of the Road Transport Act 2018, and stop the operation of vehicles beyond the lifespan while the environment department was asked to shut down all illegal brick kilns in and around Dhaka in two months and immediately halt tyre burning and battery recycling without environmental clearance. The respondents made some initial progress in enforcing the directives but failed to sustainably and adequately enforce them. The failure has, meanwhile, been costly as about 200,000 premature deaths are attributed to air pollution every year while air pollution shortens, as studies show, the life expectancy of an average Bangladeshi by 4.8 years. This winter, air pollution has worsened to such an extent that the government for the first time urged people not to go outside without masks and advised individuals with sensitive health conditions and the elderly and children to stay indoors unless absolutely necessary. Dhaka鈥檚 air quality scores hover around 200, which is regarded as very unhealthy and hazardous. Several research studies still identify construction sites, unplanned road digging and construction, brick kilns, traffic, burning of solid waste and industrial pollution to be the major sources of air pollution that the nine directives asked to attend to.
The government should, therefore, own up to its failure, take up programmes that can yield results and must comply with the court directives to curb air pollution. The authorities should realise that air pollution is a threat to not only public health but also productivity and the economy and that there is no scope for compromise with an issue that so adversely affects all. The High Court should also bring the respondents to account.