The High Court has directed the formation of monitoring teams to prevent the encroachment and filling of recorded ponds across Bogura, Sylhet, Mymensingh, Barishal, and Chattogram cities.
The court also instructed the deputy commissioners (DCs) of the respective districts to submit a complete list of recorded ponds in these cities via affidavit within three months.
A High Court bench comprising Justice Sikder Mahmudur Razi and Justice Fatema Anwar issued the order on Monday, following a hearing on a writ petition filed by the human rights organisation Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB).
The petition challenged administrative inaction regarding the unlawful encroachment and filling of ponds.
In its rule, the court asked why the administration’s inaction in preserving recorded ponds in the five cities should not be declared illegal.
It further questioned why directions should not be issued for the effective protection of these water bodies, and why legal action should not be directed against encroachers and land-fillers under Section 6 of the Reservoir Protection Act, 2000, and Section 8 of the Environment Conservation Act, 1995. The respondents have been asked to submit their replies to the rule.
Under the interim directives, the deputy commissioners and superintendents of police (SPs) of the five districts were ordered to form a seven-member monitoring committee within 15 days.
The committee must include representatives from DC, SP, and the Department of Environment (DoE).
The panel has been tasked with ensuring that no recorded pond is further encroached upon or filled up and must submit a progress report to the court within four weeks.
During the hearing, the petitioner added that filling up ponds and reservoirs in urban areas is strictly prohibited by law, which prescribes penal measures for violators.
Despite specific legislation, hundreds of ponds in Bogura, Sylhet, Mymensingh, Barishal, and Chattogram were being illegally occupied and filled, as highlighted in an investigative news report.
HRPB subsequently moved the High Court seeking legal protection for the water bodies.
The respondents named in the writ include the secretaries to the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Local Government; the director general of the Department of Environment; and the DCs and SPs of five districts, alongside other relevant authorities.
Advocates Mohammad Sarwar Ahad Chowdhury, Ripon Barai, and Sanjoy Mandal represented HRPB during the hearing, while Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Noor Mohammad Azam and Assistant Attorney General (AAG) SM Imamul Mushfiqur appeared for the state.
