Houses around Buriganga must have septic tanks in 6 months: HC
The High Court asked Rajdhani Unnayan Katripakkha to tell owners of houses near the River Buriganga to construct septic tanks within six months to treat...
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Houses around Buriganga must have septic tanks in 6 months: HC
Staff Correspondent | Published: 00:01, Mar 10,2021
The High Court asked Rajdhani Unnayan Katripakkha to tell owners of houses near the River Buriganga to construct septic tanks within six months to treat household waste.
The court asked RAJUK to take action under the Building Construction Act against those who would fail to make septic tanks within the stipulated period.
The court also asked RAJUK not to approve any layout or design for the construction of new buildings that do not include septic tanks.
The court asked RAJUK not to issue any occupancy certificate to the house owners without ensuring the construction of septic tanks.
The court also asked RAJUK to ask house owners to report in maximum 14 days who have and who do not have septic tanks facilities.
The court asked the Dhaka Water and Sewerage Authority to give house owners a maximum of six months to construct septic tanks or face disconnection of the water supply.
In the absence of septic tanks, the household wastes are being discharged into DWASA’s sewerage pipelines linked to the Buriganga, observed the High Court bench of Justice Gobinda Chandra Tagore and Justice Mohammad Ullah while giving the directives on Tuesday.
The fresh directives were issued to stop the discharge of wastes into the Buriganga following an application filed by the Human Rights for Bangladesh to implement the High Court’s June 2011 directives to seal off DWASA’s sewerage lines that carry wastes to the river.
On June 1, 2011, the High Court, after hearing a public interest litigation writ petition of the HRPB, issued a set of directives to stop dumping wastes into the Buriganga.
The court in the directives ordered DWASA, the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority and the Department of Environment to stop and prevent waste dumping in the river in six months. Manzill Murshid appeared for HRPB.
The High Court was once again annoyed with DWASA managing director Taqsem A Khan for not complying with the directive issued 10 years back to seal off its sewerage lines to the Buriganga.
The court said that DWASA managing director had appeared before it on March 4, 2020 responding to its summon and apologised for not implementing the directive and later promised to implement it immediately.
DWASA on December 2, 2019 informed the High Court that there were 67 underground drains and sewerage lines connected to the Buriganga.
But in an earlier report submitted on June 18, 2019, Taqsem said no such lines were there.
Later, BIWTA submitted a compliance report to the HC bench stating that 68 underground drains and sewerage lines were linked to the Buriganga.
On March 2, the High Court directed the Department of Environment to take appropriate legal action against 30 washing plants in Dhaka’s Keraniganj for polluting the water of the Buriganga.
The court also asked DoE to submit a report in seven days after complying with its directive.
It issued a rule asking the managing director of Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Ltd and chairman of Rural Electrification Board to explain in two weeks why contempt of court proceedings would not be brought against them for giving further gas and electricity connections to the companies despite its prohibition order.
