Editorial
Govt. decision to form river commission
Welcome, but requires statutory power
Environmentalists have long been pressing the government to form a single body with statutory powers to halt and prevent the systematic destruction of rivers and water bodies in the country. At long last, a National River Protection Commission is being formed to oversee prevention of river grabbing and pollution by unscrupulous but powerful elements. The Commission will submit a yearly report to the government with a set of recommendations on the best course of action on tackling such issues. The new body will only have advisory and recommendatory role and will not have any decisive say in matters of implementation.
This unfortunately falls far short of expectations. For years, greedy realtors and other crooked business interests have taken advantage of weak regulatory laws, rules and lack of implementing authorities to play havoc with the aqua ecosystems throughout the country. Although on paper, the National River Protection Commission Act, 2013 will help authorities to take legal steps against parties found guilty of encroachment, pollution and other acts that threaten rivers or water bodies, unless the Commission is adequately empowered and can act independently, it can't take the fight to the perpetrators. It is ironic to say that the environmental group that moved for a Commission through a writ in the High Court in 2009 was not consulted at the time of formulating the Act. Although the Commission will have a complement of a full secretariat of one chairman, four members, including a hydrologist, environmental expert and lawyer, one tends to doubt the efficacy of such a body.
There is no contesting the fact that protecting rivers and tributaries in Bangladesh has become a matter of national importance today. Shortage of water is a global phenomenon, more so in the country since adequate regulatory safeguards have been missing. The disappearances of water systems are leading to frequent flooding and drought. What had been hoped for and what various environmental groups have been advocating for is a single authority equipped with powers to effectively counter encroachers and polluters. The proposed commission as per the outlines given does not seem to be equipped to meet the challenge.
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