Shut tanneries at Hazaribagh by Feb next

The blood-red water of this pond shows only the tip of the iceberg of environment damage tanneries cause. The photo was taken near the embankment in Hazaribagh. Photo: Shafiqul Alam

The High Court (HC) yesterday directed authorities concerned to take steps to close down tanneries at the city's Hazaribagh within February next year to control the massive-scale environmental pollution the industry is causing.
The bench of Justice ABM Khairul Haque and Justice Mamtazuddin Ahmed also ordered the director general of the Department of Environment (DoE) to make sure that all industries install effluent treatment plants (ETPs) and other pollution-fighting devices by next June.
As per the ruling of the bench, factories polluting environment would either have to install ETPs or suitable devices within June 2010 or would be closed in July that year.
The bench also asked the home secretary, inspector general of police and Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner to provide the authorities concerned with sufficient logistics and police forces to close the eco-unfriendly industries.
The court said it would continue proceedings of the case until its directives to prevent environmental pollution are implemented.
The case will be brought to this court for further order on July 31 next year, it said, adding that anybody related to the case can approach the court for any order to protect environment by this time.
The HC bench expressed disappointment over industrial pollution, saying the government has not taken any measure to control pollution at industrial units and factories since the HC delivered a judgment on the matter in 2001.
Upon a writ petition filed by Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers' Association (Bela), the HC division bench of Justice Md Joynul Abedin and Justice ABM Khairul Haque delivered the judgment on July 15, 2001 with some directives on controlling industrial pollution.
The court had also ordered the industries secretary to ensure that no new industrial unit or factory be set up in the country without arranging adequate measures to control pollution required by the Environment Conservation Act 1995 and Environment Conservation Rules 1997.
Bela lawyers Syeda Rezwana Hasan and Iqbal Kabir told the court that there are still 478 industries and 183 tanneries that are causing serious pollution in the capital and that measures should be taken against those industries as per laws.
On August 7, 1986, the DoE published a gazette notification listing 903 industries and factories it identified as polluters in a survey. The number increased to 1,176 in another DoE survey in 1995.
The 1986 list included 176 tanneries, five paper and pulp factories, 16 sugar mills, three distilleries, 57 iron and steel mills, 298 textile industries, five fertiliser factories, 25 insecticide and pesticide industries, 23 chemical industries, 92 jute mills, three cement factories, 34 rubber and plastic industries and 166 pharmaceuticals.
The HC yesterday came up with the directions and observations after hearing a suo moto rule issued by it on April 28 in the wake of a series of reports on river and industrial pollution published in The Daily Star.
Meanwhile on April 28, advocate Manzill Murshid, president of Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh, filed a contempt of court petition with the HC against the industries secretary and the DG of DoE for not taking effective steps to prevent pollution in industrial areas.
The court may pass order on the contempt petition today.
Deputy Attorney General Mostafa Zaman Islam argued for the government during the hearing.