& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

BEMP's plan to save the city

SYED TASHFIN CHOWDHuRY
To protect the environment of the city, Bangladesh Environmental Management Project (BEMP), which is made up of experts on the field, has formulated a draft that recommends 45 solutions to some 62 environment related problems.
The BEMP submitted the draft to the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) recently.
"The most serious problem is the stressful condition of rivers and canals around the city from which other hazards stem," said Syed M. Iqbal Ali, team leader, technical services. The BEMP pointed out diminishing supply of drinking water, unplanned sewage disposal, river pollution through extensive use of soap, detergents and solvents, and loss of aesthetic appeal in that regard. Deterrents like land reclamation and encroachment, upstream erosion and sedimentation, dredging, sand-mining, industrial waste dumping, filling up of wetlands were also cited in the draft.
The BEMP said that some of the recommended steps should
be implemented within the next year or two while the rest could be done over a course of five to six years.
"We are calling the solutions which should be implemented between two to three years as 'quick hits' which would project the government's initiative and commitment," said a member of BEMP. Some quick hits include
turning the wetland near Norai Khal into a treatment plant for the waste-filled water of Tejgaon industrial area, settlement of ponds and reed beds for selected textile industry clusters, transferring the Saidabad intake from Sarulia to Meghna and the elimination of import duties (33.5%) on effluent treatment plants.
In addition, some other aspects that require immediate implementation are an appropriate environment-friendly design of facilities for tanneries in Savar, clearly defined encroachment rules and strict enforcement, securing river buffer zones and determination of optimal canal routes in Dhaka for linkage and rehabilitation. "Most of these problems only worsen due to the absence of proper long-term visions of various statutory bodies like Dhaka City Corporation (DCC), Rajdhani Unnayan Kartikpakkha (Rajuk), Dhaka Water and Sewerage Authority (DWASA) and others," said Ali.
Ali pointed out that these agencies while trying to solve the short-term problems, actually generate new ones in the long run. Most of the time their activities generate a conflict of interest resulting in wastage of valuable resources, time and money. The draft has also formulated a proposed institutional structure under which these implementing agencies would be answerable to a proposed steering committee under the Prime Minister's
Office (PMO) for any project that they are about to undertake. The committee will also consist of representatives from the Ministry of Environment and Forest who would provide assistance and manage vital information and provide strategic environmental friendly plans for the projects.
Besides, provisions for public feedback has been kept. "City dwellers can actually question the various projects through the Dhaka Environment Public Review and Advisory Council. This will consist of respected citizens like newspaper editors, independent technical and professional people and political leaders," said Ali.
The council will be responsible also for providing information to the public on the projects and their environmental aspects and simultaneously, accumulate plans and reviews from stakeholders and various groups which may be affected due to the implementation of certain projects.
The implementation of the entire programme would require US$ eight billion over a period of 20 years.
"Even though, this indicative budget may sound expensive, the cost incurred by the city through the cited problems will be over US$ 51.1 billion by 2025," said Ali.
BEMP is planning to organise another workshop shortly where it will discuss the prospects of the draft with potential stakeholders and steering committee members.