The High Court has issued a rule questioning why the failure of the defendants to protect the Banar River in Mymensingh from pollution—thereby violating the Constitution, prevailing laws, and court rulings—should not be declared illegal and against public interest.
The ruling was issued by a bench of the High Court, comprising Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Debasish Roy Chowdhury, following the preliminary hearing of a public interest litigation filed by the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA), according to a press release issued on Sunday.
Additionally, the court sought an explanation as to why the Banar River should not be declared and regulated as an Ecologically Critical Area under Section 5 of the Environmental Conservation Act, why its boundaries should not be determined based on CS maps and its original flow, and why appropriate conservation and pollution prevention measures should not be implemented.
Along with issuing the rule, the court directed the chairman of the National River Protection Commission, the director general of the Department of Environment, and the deputy director of the Mymensingh Department of Environment to conduct an investigation and prepare a comprehensive list of polluters.
The managing director of Dresden Company in Trishal, Mymensingh, was ordered to immediately cease dumping factory waste into the river.
Additionally, all industries and factories near the Banar River must ensure that Effluent Treatment Plants (ETPs) and pollution control devices are operational and monitored 24/7.
The court instructed the chairman of the National River Protection Commission, the director general of the Department of Environment, and the deputy director of the Mymensingh Department of Environment to oversee compliance with these directives and submit a report within three months.
The defendants in the case include the secretaries of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the Ministry of Water Resources, and the Ministry of Land; the chairman of the National River Protection Commission; the director general of the Department of Environment; the director general of the Bangladesh Water Development Board; the deputy commissioner and superintendent of police of Mymensingh; the upazila nirbahi officer of Trishal, Mymensingh; the deputy director of the Department of Environment, Mymensingh; and the managing director of Dresden Company, Trishal, Mymensingh.
The Banar is one of the 56 most polluted rivers in the country.
Due to industrial waste contamination, the levels of pH, DO, and BOD in its water exceed the acceptable limits set by the Environmental Conservation Regulations.
The continuous discharge of chemical waste has rendered the river lifeless, depleting aquatic species and fish populations.