Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh has proposed ten points demands to save the environment

Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB) has demanded 10 points for environmental protection. Manzil Morshed, president of HRPB and senior lawyer of the Bangladesh Supreme Court, made these demands at a discussion meeting recently held at the National Press Club, Dhaka.

The demand made by HRPB are the following:

1. To Legislate removal of the public representatives involved in environmental destroying activities and disqualify them from elections.
2. The National River Conservation Commission needs to empower by strengthening it and running the commission directly under the Cabinet.
3. To pass laws to act against the Government officials in charge of the concerned areas if the nature and environment damages in the city corporations, municipalities, districts, and Upazilas except for natural calamities.
4. It is necessary to increase the manpower of the Department of Environment, establish offices in all the districts and ensure the financial allocation to protect the environment.
5. In implementing any project along the river, it is necessary firstly fix the boundaries of the rivers according to the CS records of Bangladesh as per the instructions of the Appellate Division.
6. Punishment following the Bangladesh Environment law should ensure by stopping the fines through mobile courts for causing damages to the environment and legislate a law declaring immediate closure of the establishment of the person concerned if convicted of damaging the environment.
7. To recruit skilled, honest, competent, committed, and environmentally educated people in all the government departments involved in environmental activities.
8. The budget of the Ministry of Environment has to increase three times so that it can play a constructive role in protecting the environment.
9. To ensure administratively protection of the environmentalists, lawyers, journalists, and all individuals working in the environment.
10. To form an efficient and effective administration to protect the environment, it is necessary to set up an ‘Environmental Institute’ in the country and take steps to involve the environmental experts from home and abroad in this work.

The President of HRPB presided over the function, and the chief guest was Dr. Manzoor A. Chowdhury, Chairman of the National River Conservation Commission and Center for Governance Studies.

Manzoor A. Chowdhury said, ‘The present condition of the rivers around Dhaka is badly polluted. No one can bathe in the river within 95 kilometers of Dhaka, and there are not many species of aquatic animals in this part.

We have adopted a plan to decontaminate five rivers around and near Dhaka. We will execute our works by March 17 next year, which will create a favorable environment in the rivers for the aquatic animals to live, and for the people to bathe.

Manzil Morshed said, “The Government announcements related to the environment is another type, and the works executed in the field are different. But unfortunately, Dhaka is the number one city in the world for air pollution, though having a good number of environmental laws.

There are not so many environmental laws in other countries in the world but have in Bangladesh. So, there is no alternative, rather a practical implementation of those environmental laws.”