Ctg DoE limping with staff shortage

The Department of Environment (DoE), Chittagong division is struggling to tackle environment pollution due to acute manpower shortage.

Presently, the office has only 37 staff against 81 posts, which is less than half the approved manpower. The DoE consists of four departments -- Metropolitan, zonal, district and laboratory.

With this small workforce, the DoE has to identify industries and vehicles polluting the environment, lead mobile courts, investigate environment-pollution cases and carry out awareness campaigns, among other tasks, in the Chittagong division.

Azadur Rahman Mollick, director of DoE (metropolitan), said in the city alone, there are about 1,000 industries that need to be monitored.

However, the department has only one inspector and one assistant director for monitoring the industries, he said, adding that five inspectors and four assistant director posts are vacant. 

Moreover, the DoE has only one inspector and one assistant director to monitor 408 brick kilns in 14 upazilas of the district.        

Each of the assistant director and inspector has to investigate about 30 cases, and so it is rather difficult to carry out proper investigation and submit charge sheet on time, said DoE officials.

Over 500 environment cases have been filed since 2002, and of them 245 are still pending with the DoE, said Badrul Ala, senior public prosecutor of Chittagong environment court.     

Chittagong DoE Director Mokbul Hossain said overall the department has only 357 staff countrywide, adding that the environment and forests ministry has been informed of the situation and would take action accordingly.