Legal Notice Sent to 5 DCs and 10 Others Over Pond Filling

The government passed the Water Body Conservation Act in 2000 to safeguard the nation’s ecology. It prohibits filling ponds and other water bodies in urban areas and enforces severe penalties for excessive development. In spite of this law, hundreds of ponds in the district towns of Barishal, Mymensingh, Chattogram, Bogura, and Sylhet are being actively taken over and filled, according to a Channel 1 investigation.

Senior Advocate Mr. Manzil Morshed, leading the environmental group Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB), was led by the article to send a formal legal notice by email today. Deputy Commissioners, Superintendents of Police, and Directors of the Department of Environment from each of the five affected districts are among the 15 recipients, who are called upon to take prompt action to stop the ongoing encroachment.

The notice urges authorities to take full action to protect existing water bodies while arranging for a full reconstruction of all taken and filled ponds within four weeks. It also threatens to take necessary legal action against the recipients if they disobey these instructions.