High Court orders full enforcement of anti-air pollution directives for Dhaka in three weeks

The High Court has directed that the nine-point directives it issued five years ago to curb Dhaka’s air pollution be fully implemented within three weeks, with a progress report submitted to the court afterwards.

The bench of Justice Md Rezaul Hasan and Justice Urmee Rahman passed the order on Thursday, according to Manzill Murshid, counsel for the petitioner Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB).

He said the court had issued a rule on Jan 29, 2019, in response to a public interest litigation filed by HRPB seeking effective measures to curb Dhaka’s worsening air quality.

Later, on Jan 13, 2020, the High Court issued nine specific directives to the authorities concerned.

The directives are:

• Cover soil, sand, and waste transported by trucks or other vehicles.
• Cover all construction materials such as soil, sand, cement, and stone at construction sites.
• Ensure water is sprayed regularly on city roads by city corporations.
• Enforce tender conditions in road, culvert, carpeting, and excavation works.
• Seize vehicles emitting black smoke.
• Set time limits for vehicle movement as per transport laws and ban unfit vehicles after their expiry.
• Shut down all illegal brick kilns.
• Close tyre factories operating without environmental clearance.
• Ensure markets and shops pack daily waste in bags and that city corporations remove them regularly.

Murshid said a supplementary petition was filed by HRPB on Wednesday after recent media reports highlighted severe health risks caused by Dhaka’s toxic air.

“Following today’s hearing, the court ordered full compliance with the nine directives within three weeks and submission of a progress report on the implementation. The court has fixed Nov 30 for the next order,” he said.

The senior lawyer noted that last year, the air quality in Dhaka had improved due to partial compliance with earlier court orders.

“But the authorities have since failed to take effective steps, leading to such severe pollution that harmful airborne particles are now entering people’s lungs, heightening serious health risks,” he said.

Citing a research report published in the media, Murshid urged the court to issue urgent orders to save millions of Dhaka residents by enforcing all nine directives.

Lawyer Md Sarwar Ahad Chowdhury represented HRPB in the hearing, assisted by Sanjay Mondal.