Earth filling, foreshore construction banned [ Tritiyo Matra News ]

Earth filling, foreshore construction banned

Local November 14, 2016

The government on Sunday directed the deputy commissioners of four districts to enforce ban on earth filling and construction activities on the foreshores of four rivers passing by the capital.
The government took the move to stop encroachments on the Buriganga, Turag, Balu and the Shitalakkhya rivers.
The high-power task force headed by shipping minister Shajahan Khan issued the directive.
The directive was issued following the task force’s recurrent failure to stop the
encroachments on the four rivers and dumping of pollutants into them in last seven years.
The temporary ban on earth filling and construction activities on both the banks of the four river would be notified in the official gazette in a couple of days, the shipping minister told reporters emerging from the task force meeting at the secretariat.
He said all construction activities on both the foreshores of the four rivers would remain suspended until further order.
The ban of earth filling and construction activities would extend to 40 yards from the boundary pillars of the four rivers to facilitate holding fresh surveys to re-demarcate the rivers ‘accurately,’ he said.
The government imposed the ban four days after the High Court Division directed it to stop encroachments, earth filling and illegal construction activities on the Turag River within 48 hours.
The court also asked the authorities to explain in four weeks why their failure to protect the Turag River from encroachments, earth-filing and illegal construction should not be declared illegal.
The task force asked the DCs of Dhaka, Gazipur, Narayanganj and Musnhsiganj to ensure that no land tax was illegally paid by individuals for any land within the alignments of the four rivers, officials said.
The meeting, they said, discussed the serious issue of payment of land tax for river land by grabbers in connivance with officials to record river land in their names.
Asked how encroachments could take place on the Turag during government’s eviction drives, the shipping minister said that due to shortage of manpower and equipment the drives could not be effective.
He said that 13 structures illegally built on the four rivers were identified by the task force on Sunday for demolition without serving any notice.
The four DCs would be provided with land records and survey department’s maps of the four rivers to enable them settle disputes over the four rivers’ boundary pillars within a month, said the minister.
The task force chairman said the DCs had been asked to hold fresh surveys following the river maps and accurately demarcate the boundaries of the four rivers.
He said that none would be allowed to build structures on river land.
He said, replying to a question, the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority would continue its drives to evict encroachers from the banks of the four rivers.
He said that campaigns would be launched to make the inhabitants in the nearby areas aware about the ban.
He said that local communities would be involved with activities to free the rivers from encroachments and pollution.
Water resources minister Anisul Islam Mahmud, environment minister Anwar Hossain and land minister Shamsur Rahaman Sherif attended the meeting.
On August 31, a special meeting of the task force took decision to involve Bangladesh Navy with the efforts to retrieve the four rivers from encroachers and keep them free from pllution.
In 2010, the task force chaired by Shajahan was assigned to restore the four rivers’ navigability by freeing them from grabbers.
But the task force failed to produce the desired results.
In 2009, the High Court Division in a verdict directed the government to stop the encroachments, earth filling and illegal construction on the four rivers and demolish all illegally built structures on them.
The government was also asked to correctly demarcate the boundaries of the four rivers following the cadastral survey maps in four months and report compliance to the court by December 15, 2009.
Officials from the industries ministry, local government division, Bangladesh Navy, and the offices of DCs of Dhaka, Narayanganj, Gazipur and Munshiganj and police officials also attended the task force meeting.
Every day, at least 4,500 tonnes of municipal wastes and 22,00 litres of toxic tannery wastes are dumped into the four rivers, the task force was informed at its previous meeting.
Every day, at least 7,159 kg of industrial wastes are dumped into the Turag River alone at Tongi.