Staff Reporter :
Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Md Shahab Uddin on Thursday said, it is a big challenge of the incumbent government to maintain a balance between development and environmental safety issues.
“To achieve Sustainable Development Goals within 2030 is impossible, if biodiversity is not maintained alongside development,” Shahab Uddin said.
The minister said this in a workshop titled “Clean Air” held at Hotel Intercontinental in the capital organised by Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ministry on Thursday.
Saber Hossain Chowdhury, Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Chief Executive of Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association addressed the programme, among others.
The Minister said, the government is firm in ensuring sustainable development in all sectors and its reflection is visible during recent eviction drives against illegal river encroachments.
The government is careful in implementing different development projects so that environmental hazards do not pose threat to people’s lives, he said.
The other discussants of the workshop said, once passed in the Parliament, the Clean Air Act will strengthen the Department of Environment’s authority in curbing polluters.
As per the draft act, a person can be penalised with two years imprisonment for committing an offence for the first time. A person can be awarded up to 10 years imprisonment for repeated commission of an offence, it says.
Moreover, companies and public agencies can be held accountable and awarded with punishment for violating law, says the draft act.
Saber Hossain Chowdhury said, the country’s air quality reaches “critical stage” during dry season, from October to March.
The law should be passed in the Parliament before start of the dry season, he said.
Syeda Rizwana Hasan said, different countries have prioritised air pollution and also enacted extensive laws to this end.
She hoped, the proposed law will open a new window in maintaining environmental safety in the country.
Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Md Shahab Uddin on Thursday said, it is a big challenge of the incumbent government to maintain a balance between development and environmental safety issues.
“To achieve Sustainable Development Goals within 2030 is impossible, if biodiversity is not maintained alongside development,” Shahab Uddin said.
The minister said this in a workshop titled “Clean Air” held at Hotel Intercontinental in the capital organised by Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ministry on Thursday.
Saber Hossain Chowdhury, Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Chief Executive of Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association addressed the programme, among others.
The Minister said, the government is firm in ensuring sustainable development in all sectors and its reflection is visible during recent eviction drives against illegal river encroachments.
The government is careful in implementing different development projects so that environmental hazards do not pose threat to people’s lives, he said.
The other discussants of the workshop said, once passed in the Parliament, the Clean Air Act will strengthen the Department of Environment’s authority in curbing polluters.
As per the draft act, a person can be penalised with two years imprisonment for committing an offence for the first time. A person can be awarded up to 10 years imprisonment for repeated commission of an offence, it says.
Moreover, companies and public agencies can be held accountable and awarded with punishment for violating law, says the draft act.
Saber Hossain Chowdhury said, the country’s air quality reaches “critical stage” during dry season, from October to March.
The law should be passed in the Parliament before start of the dry season, he said.
Syeda Rizwana Hasan said, different countries have prioritised air pollution and also enacted extensive laws to this end.
She hoped, the proposed law will open a new window in maintaining environmental safety in the country.
