SC clears way to save 4 rivers:Daily Star

The Supreme Court yesterday upheld its 2010 judgment that cleared the way for removing all structures, excluding the government ones set up to serve public interests, from the rivers around the capital. The rivers are Shitalakkhya, Balu, Turag and Buriganga. The Appellate Division of the SC dismissed five separate review petitions filed by five commercial companies challenging its 2010 verdict tha
t affirmed a High Court verdict directing the government to remove the structures. Following yesterday's verdict, the jetties and other structures established by some private commercial companies within the rivers' boundaries upon the government permission have to be removed. The companies are City Sugar Industries Ltd, Heidelberg Cement Bangladesh Ltd, Kamal Vegetable Oil Ltd, Molla Salt Industries Ltd and Cimex Cement BD limited. They submitted the review petitions on different days in 2010 so that their jetties established on Shitalakkhya river are not removed by the government. Earlier in May, the same year (2010), the apex court upheld the HC judgment which directed the government to demarcate the areas of the rivers and to remove all structures from these areas, excluding those established by the government to serve public interests. The HC had delivered the landmark verdict following a writ petition moved by Manzill Murshid on behalf of the Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh. Seven commercial companies, including the above mentioned five companies, had filed separate appeals with SC against the HC verdict so that their jetties were not removed from the Shitalakkhya. On May 3, 2010, the SC rejected the appeals and upheld the HC verdict. Talking to The Daily Star yesterday, Manzill Murshid said the government has to remove all illegal structures including jetties from the rivers excluding those set up by the government. The four dying rivers will be restored and city dwellers will be protected from environmental pollution following the apex court order, he said. The rivers will be dredged and not be encroached upon and grabbed if the SC directives are properly implemented, he said. He informed that the government has so far knocked down most of the structures excluding some pillars in Balu and Turag and jetties on Shitalakkhya. Manzill said there is no more legal scope to halt the implementation of the SC directive. “If the government does not remove structures from the rivers after receiving the SC judgement, I will move a contempt of court petition against the authorities concerned,” he said.   Syed Amirul Islam, a lawyer for Cimex Cement BD limited, told The Daily Star that all the structures from the rivers have to be removed now following the SC verdict. A five-member bench of the Appellate Division of the SC headed by Chief Justice Md Muzammel Hossain on July 3 held hearing on the review petitions and fixed July 14 (yesterday) for the verdict.