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The government has banned the establishment of any new industrial ventures or projects within the 10-kilometer Ecologically Critical Area (ECA) surrounding the Sundarbans.
An official gazette notification will be issued soon in this regard, said the environment ministry on Monday.
Furthermore, a team of experts will assess the environmental impact of existing industries within the 10 km ECA. Based on this assessment and subject to court directives, further decisions regarding these establishments will be taken.
This decision was taken at the 16th meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Environment and Climate Change Committee held at Bangladesh Secretariat on Monday with Environment Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan in the chair. At the meeting, previous decisions taken under section 3.4.4 of the 2017 National Environment Committee and the 2021 Executive Committee were revised to strengthen the environmental protection of the Sundarbans. The committee also decided to amend the Climate Change Trust Rules, allowing joint project proposals by government agencies, private organizations, and NGOs. To combat noise pollution, opinions from all ministries will be gathered to develop a future action plan.
Proposals will be made to increase the enforcement budget of the Ministry of Environment. Additionally, proposals will be submitted to introduce and increase risk allowances for forest department employees. It was also decided to ensure at least 30 per cent block usage in all public and private building construction by 2025.
A coordination meeting at the secretary level will be held in May on this matter, said the ministry. The decisions from the previous meeting and the agenda of the current meeting were presented by Fahmida Khanom, additional secretary (Environment) of the ministry and member secretary of the Committee.
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