Water experts at a seminar here on Tuesday said local body representatives need to be authorised to file cases against river polluters as the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act, 1995 is absolutely ‘ineffective’ to prevent pollution.
“It’s urgently needed to decentralise the authority to file cases over river pollution to the representatives of municipalities and union parishads,” said former Director General of Bangladesh Water Resources Planning Organisation (WARPO) Engineer M Inamul Haque.
Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD), in cooperation with Water Rights Forum (WRF), arranged the seminar titled ‘Protection of Rivers, Haors, Water Bodies and the People’s Rights’ at Cirdap Auditorium marking the World Water Day 2017.
According to the clause 15A of the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act, 1995, Inamul Haque said, only the Director General of Department of Environment can file cases seeking compensations for river pollution.
No court is supposed to take cognizance of an offence or accept any case of compensation over river pollution except on the written reports of any person authorised by the director general as per clause 17 of the Act, he mentioned. Talking about Public Water Body Management Policy 2009, he said the policy is being misused and the process of leasing out open water bodies illegally showing these as closed water bodies.
The former WARPO DG said at least one fish sanctuary should be created at every union of the country and it would be difficult to find places to do so.
Water expert Prof Dr Ainun Nishat said there is deficit in the works of the Water Resources Ministry to protect sources of water.
Noting that Hazaribagh tanneries of the capital are being relocated to Savar, he said shifting tanneries to Savar means shifting problems from one place to another place. The tanneries that polluted the Buriganga River will now pollute another river at Savar, he added.
Dr Nishat said there are many laws related to water, but now it is time to enforce those.
Water Resources Ministry’s Senior Secretary Dr Zafar Ahmed Khan said the rivers surrounding the capital must be cleaned and freed from illegal occupants. ALRD Executive Director Shamsul Huda demanded the enactment of a separate law to protect rivers as there are some 1200 smalls and large rivers across the country.
The National River Protection Commission was formed to monitor all the rivers, but it was not given authority to take any action. ALRD Chairperson and Coordinator of Nijera Kori Khushi Kabir presided over the seminar, while its Deputy Executive Director Rawshon Jahan Moni presented the keynote paper.
Moni, in her keynote paper, demanded the formation of a water commission giving it the executive power to implement the Water Act 2013 and set up district-level water courts in the country.
