HC outlines river steps

Defiant businessmen engage workers to illegally fill up a stretch of the River Buriganga near Postogola with sand, despite the continuing government drive against all kinds of encroachment. Photo:Shafiqul Alam

The High Court yesterday issued a set of directives for the government to save the rivers around the capital from encroachment and pollution.
It directed the deputy commissioners of Dhaka, Narayanganj, Gazipur and Munshiganj to determine the exact boundaries of Buriganga, Shitalakhya, Turag and Balu rivers by November 30.
The bench of Justice ABM Khairul Haque and Justice Mamtazuddin Ahmed said the land records and survey department will help the DCs by doing cadastral surveys for delimitation of the river boundaries.
It directed the forest and environment secretary to designate the four rivers as 'Ecologically Critical Areas' to facilitate the demarcation work.
The directives came in response to a writ petition filed as public interest litigation by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh.
Reading out the orders, Justice ABM Khairul Haque lauded The Daily Star and Channel i for their campaign to draw attention to the pollution and encroachment on the rivers.
The other media followed suit to sensitise people to the issues, he added.
The court said once the demarcation is complete, the authorities must have the river banks lined with pillars by May 30, 2010.
Besides, they will have to remove the piles of garbage and deposits of sand and soil from the rivers by November 30, 2010.
For the Dhaka City Corporation and the public works department, the directive is to construct walkways and plant trees along the riverbanks by May 31, 2011.
The court asked the DCs to continue the ongoing campaign to knock down the illegal structures from the river land.
It ordered the Water Development Board to take measures to dredge the Dhaka rivers at their sources to ensure the water flows unhindered within five years.
The HC said within six months after demarcation the land ministry will have to hand over possession of 50 yards along the river banks to the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority.
The finance ministry has been asked to earmark essential resources for the jobs.
The bench ruled that the officials concerned cannot be transferred during the demarcation process.
Moreover, the government must ensure no influence is exerted on those involved in the job. It must also see to security arrangements for the staff concerned.
The government officials will be held accountable if the directives are not carried out within the time specified.
In its judgment, the HC observed that the four rivers have become 'biologically dead', and steps should be taken to save them without delay, as they are the lifeline for over 1.20 crore Dhaka city dwellers.
Unabated dumping of toxic waste and household rubbish in the rivers has left water bereft of its natural qualities, the bench said quoting the submissions.
The HC bench also cited the Wasa officials' opinion that the way the water table is going down and the environment degradation continuing, the city would have no ground water available 10 years from now.
Earlier this month, the HC heard opinions of the four DCs, and officials of DCC, Wasa and Department of Environment (DoE) to find out ways to save the rivers.
Manzil Murshid appeared for the petitioner and Deputy Attorney General Mostafa Zaman Islam for the government.
Syeda Rizwana Hasan and Iqbal Kabir Liton argued for Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association, an added party to the petition, which followed a series of reports in The Daily Star on river pollution and encroachment.