The long-awaited National River Protection Commission is now being formed thirteen months after the National River Protection Commission Act was passed, with the appointment of two retired bureaucrats as chairman and member.
Former Land Secretary Ataharul Islam has been named chairman while former Additional Secretary to the Shipping Ministry Md Alauddin has been made a member of the commission, according to separate gazette notifications issued on August 3 by the public administration ministry.
The commission has been tasked with protecting rivers from illegal occupation, resisting illegal construction on embankments, combating water contamination, and recovering river navigability. The National River Protection Commission Act was passed in parliament on July 14, 2013.
A shipping ministry proposal last February to appoint former Rural Development and Cooperative Secretary Dr Mihir Kanti Mojumder as the commission's first chairman was rejected due to strong internal opposition, sources said.
In January 2014, the shipping ministry appointed its Joint Secretary Firoz Khan Noon as the commission’s member secretary, shipping ministry public relations officer, Jahangir Alam Khan, confirmed.
He said the chairman and a member had been appointed and said two more members would be appointed later as required by law.
Shipping Secretary Syed Monjurul Islam said in February this year the commission would function under the shipping ministry as a statutory body with the chairperson and members appointed for three years.
According to the law, the five member commission will be comprised of a chairman, a woman member and three members, and membership would be sought from those with expertise in public administration, lawmaking, human rights, river management or engineering, river surveying and environmental management.
Of the five members, one will be appointed on a full time basis and the remainder will have honorary status.
The shipping ministry says of the 230 rivers in the country, 97 are now moribund.
Experts and conservationists have long been campaigning to save the country's rivers, and a higher court instructed the government to form a commission to do this.