HC orders publication of names of Environment polluters within 7 days

The High Court has directed the Department of Environment (DOE) to publish the names of the organisations and people, who have been fined or imprisoned for polluting the environment, on the DoE's website and in mass media by issuing press releases within seven days.

The court directed the director general (DG) of the environment department to implement the order and submit a report to the court within the next two weeks.

The court also issued a rule asking why the recent decision of the DoE not to disclose the names of the polluters would not be declared illegal.

At the same time, the High Court wanted to know why the inaction of the defendants in disclosing the names of the polluters would not be illegal and why the disclosure of the names would not be directed.

The environment and the information secretaries, the director-general of the environment department and seven others concerned have been asked to respond to the rule within four weeks.

A preliminary hearing on the writ petition regarding this issue was held on Monday.

The High Court bench of Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam and Justice Mohi Uddin Shamim issued the order and the rule.

Advocate Manzil Morshed filed the petition on behalf of Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh.

Manzil Morshed told the media that the Department of Environment had not recently published the list of names of the organisations and the owners of the organisations, who had been fined or imprisoned, on its website.

The DoE just published about the money fined or compensated and the imprisonment.

"But the Environmental Protection Act says to disclose such names. The Right to Information Act also gives the public a legal right to know these names," said Morshed.

He added that the DoE had decided not to disclose the names of the recent polluters.

The writ petition was filed challenging such illegal activities and decisions of the Department of Environment.

The lawyer said in the writ petition that if the names of those accused were revealed, others would be careful and afraid to pollute the environment.