Department of pollution and collusion?
The degree of corruption that the Department of Environment (DoE) is immersed in, according to a new report by the Transparency International Bangladesh, perhaps explains why the country's environment is being polluted so mindlessly and at such a fast rate, without any meaningful intervention from the concerned authorities. The report said that instead of offering services as per the relevant law, the department has been taking bribes to issue necessary certificates to factory owners. It is a gross violation of its mandate and is completely criminal.
The study found significant amounts of irregularities, corruption and inefficiency in the country's lone regulatory body for monitoring, supervising and protecting the environment. Given this reality, should it be any wonder why Dhaka is one of the most polluted cities in the world? The TIB report also revealed that to obtain site clearance and environmental clearance in the lead-up to establishing factories, interested parties had to pay DoE officials hefty bribes ranging from Tk 1,08,000 to Tk 1,66,000. These certificates are, of course, mandatory for businesses and others to obtain under the Environment Conservation Act, 1995.
In Bangladesh, factories are categorised as green, orange and red to reflect their level of pollution, with factories categorised as red being the worst polluters. Among the factories categorised as orange and red, 57 percent were granted environmental clearance by the DoE even though those did not submit environment management plans, which is mandatory for obtaining the clearance. There is no way this had happened accidentally. DoE officials are clearly involved in various irregularities and bribe taking which has led to this situation. And TIB has reportedly acquired proof of the officials cancelling fines of polluters and also taking bribes from polluters to allow dysfunctional effluent treatment plants to operate. If TIB could unearth such massive level of corruption, we wonder what prevented the government from doing so.
While all these irregularities are happening at the DoE, it is the environment and the people who are suffering. Even during the last COP summit, Bangladesh was seen as a country leading the charge to protect the environment for the sake of our planet and its inhabitants. But with such irregularities taking place in our own backyard, what right do we have to lecture others around the world?
The TIB revelations are so horrid that we cannot but call for a complete overhaul of the DoE. The government should launch immediate investigations into the allegations brought forth by the report, carefully analyse the evidence they have acquired and conduct its own investigations into the alleged irregularities. Any officials—or influential persons—found to be involved in any sort of corruption should be severely punished. And all environment laws must be enforced properly henceforth.
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