Air pollution: HC summons Dhaka city CEOs

The High Court today summoned chief executive officers (CEOs) of Dhaka north and south city corporations to appear before it on May 15 to explain their steps about complying with its directive to curb air pollution in Dhaka.  

The court also asked Deputy Attorney General ABM Abdullah-Al Mahmud Bashar to communicate the secretaries to the ministries of environment and forest, and the public administration to take steps for appointing adequate executive magistrates to run mobile courts against the air pollution across the country.

The HC bench of Justice Nazmul Ahasan and Justice KM Kamrul Kader passed the order during hearing a writ petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB) seeking necessary order on the authorities concerned to curb pollution in Dhaka.

The bench fixed May 15 for further hearing on this issue.

HRPB’s lawyer Advocate Manzill Murshid told The Daily Star that that the HC on March 13 directed the CEOs of DNCC and DSCC place separate reports before it on their steps taken to address air pollution in the capital.

But, the reports they have recently submitted are ambiguous and dissatisfactory, he said, adding that they HC yesterday summoned them before it on May 15 to explain the reports and the steps taken by the DNCC and DSCC to curb the air pollution.

DAG Abdullah-Al Mahmud Bashar told this correspondent that the director general of the department of environment (DoE) has submitted a report to the HC saying that the DoE is supposed to have eight executive magistrates to run mobile courts across the country against the persons responsible for the pollution.

But, the DoE has only magistrate in Dhaka to run the mobile court against the people responsible for the pollution, he said.

DAG Bashar said the papers submitted by the CEOs of DNCC and DSCC to the HC are not clear.

Following the same writ petition, the HC on January 28 this year ordered the DG of DoE to take steps to conduct mobile court twice a week against those responsible for air pollution in Dhaka.

Advocate Nur-Un Nahar appeared for the DNCC and DSCC.