LGRD Minister Tazul Islam today told parliament that the main causes of air pollution are unfit vehicles, black smoke emitted from factories and brick kilns, and dust pollution caused by urbanisation.

The minister said this while responding to a tabled question of ruling Awami League MP Mohammad Sayeed Khokon.

He also said the impact of methane gas emitted from landfills on air pollution is not serious.

However, modern technology-based sanitary landfills and waste-to-energy projects have been planned to control methane gas emissions, he added.

In response to a question of Awami League lawmaker M Abdul Latif, the LGRD minister said that according to the Joint Monitoring Programme-2022, improved sanitation in the entire country is 84 percent and safely managed sanitation is 39 percent.

While responding to another question of the same MP, Tazul Islam said Dhaka South City Corporation has taken the initiative of formulating no-objection regulations for land development, building construction or reconstruction in the planned urbanisation and construction of habitable Dhaka.

If the programme of the said regulation is implemented, there will be a visible change in Dhaka by stopping construction of uncontrolled buildings and controlling the population density in the capital. As a result, it can play an effective role in planned urbanisation, he said.

In response to another query of ruling party MP Afzal Hossain, the minister said with the aim of increasing economic development and civic amenities, initiatives have been taken to construct, renovate and preserve the necessary infrastructure in rural and urban areas nationwide under the Local Government Department's LGED.