The High Court has directed the respondents to submit a report in the form of an affidavit within two weeks detailing what steps have been taken to implement the previously issued nine-point directives to control air pollution in Dhaka.
The court instructed the relevant parties to submit the report as an affidavit and fixed 16 November for the next hearing.
The matter came up for order on Monday before a High Court bench comprising Justice JBM Hassan and Justice Aziz Ahmed Bhuiyan. The court issued the order following the hearing of an application filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB).
The applicant side said air pollution in Dhaka is rising with the change of season, yet effective measures are not being taken in line with the court’s earlier directives, putting the health of city residents at risk.
In 2020, the High Court issued the nine-point directives to the respondents following a public interest writ petition filed by HRPB seeking action to prevent air pollution in Dhaka.
The directives included sprinkling water at various locations in the city, transporting sand-laden trucks covered, enclosing construction sites, removing market waste in bags at designated times, and shutting down illegal brick kilns around Dhaka.
Subsequently, HRPB filed an application in court seeking a report on the steps taken to execute these directions. Earlier, the court had also ordered the deputy commissioners of five districts to appear in person for failing to submit the report.
The respondents in the case include the environment secretary, the mayors of Dhaka North and South City Corporations, the director general of the Fire Service, and the director general of the Department of Environment, along with other relevant officials.
Advocate Manzill Murshid conducted the hearing on behalf of the application in court.
