‘Air Pollution Control Rules serves business interests’
The recently enacted Air Pollution Control Rules-2022 has been adopted to protect the interest of the businesses that are responsible for polluting the country's environment, speakers told a seminar yesterday.
The seminar was organised by Centre for Atmospheric Pollution Study (CAPS) of Stamford University and the research-based platform Barcik at Jatiya Press Club.
Environmentalists and academicians also urged the government to revise emissions standards following World Health Organisation's (WHO) standard to reduce the perennial air pollution taking a toll on the country's economy and public health.
Addressing the seminar as the special guest, Advocate Manjil Morshed said how the rules or law will take shape solely depends on who is involved in formulating the law or rules.
"Businessmen lead our parliament. So, it is not out of the ordinary that the law or rules will be formulated keeping their interests in mind," he said.
Sharif Jamil, general secretary of Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon, said globally, laws are enacted to protect people's interests and health. But in Bangladesh, the law goes against the masses.
Ahmed Kamruzzaman Mojumder, founder of CAPS and also chairman of the Department of Environmental Science at Stamford University, during his keynote presentation, pointed out that WHO's standard for Particulate Matter 2.5 was five micrograms per cubic metre, whereas the Department of Environment made it 35 micrograms in our national emission standard.
Apart from this, stack emissions from coal-based power plants in the case of nitrogen oxide, and sulphur dioxide were made 200 milligrams respectively, which is five times higher than the global standard, he added.
Prof Adil Khan of urban and regional planning at Jahangirnagar University said environmental disasters are being facilitated through relaxing the emission standard, risking public health severely.
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