High Court orders assessment of Shitalakshya pollution damage within three months
The High Court has directed the environment secretary and the Department of Environment to assess how much environmental and economic damage has been caused by industrial waste polluting the Shitalakshya River in Narayanganj and to submit a report. The court gave three months for the report to be submitted.
A High Court bench of Justice Ahmed Sohel and Justice S M Iftekhar Uddin Mahmud passed the order on Thursday (5 November).
The direction came at a hearing on a writ petition filed by the human rights and environmental organisation Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB). Lawyer Manzil Morshed took part in the hearing for the organisation, while Deputy Attorney General Khan Ziaur Rahman appeared for the state.
Earlier, on 6 May 2025, the High Court issued a rule after a preliminary hearing on a writ seeking directions to take necessary steps to stop pollution of the Shitalakshya River. At that time, the court also gave several directions, including keeping the polluting factories under surveillance, forming a committee on the matter and assessing the damage caused by the river pollution.
As the damage report was not submitted even after that order, HRPB applied to the court again. The application said many industrial factories are being run without environmental clearance and effluent treatment plants (ETPs).
The application also said untreated waste from these factories is being dumped into the river, severely damaging the Shitalakshya River and the surrounding environment.
The writ named Khalek Textile, Leena Paper Mill, RSK Dyeing, Khan Brothers Textile, SRS Knit Dyeing, Messrs Rubel Dyeing, Bangladesh Dyeing and Processing, Asian Fabric, Jilani Dyeing, Gazipur Board Mills, New Alam Dyeing, Mayer Doa Dyeing, MR Dyeing, Abdur Rob Dyeing, Bismillah Knit Dyeing, Shimul Dyeing, Razzak Washing and Haji Rasul Dyeing as linked to the pollution.
The respondents in the case include the secretary of the shipping ministry, the home secretary, the chairman of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority, the director general of the Department of Environment, the police, the deputy commissioner of Narayanganj and the owners of 117 industrial factories.
