Constitute NRPC or face contempt charge, rights watchdog asks govt
Sunday, 3 January 2010
A legal notice was served upon the government Saturday by a rights watchdog as it failed to comply with a High Court order that had asked it to form National River Protection Commission (NRPC) within a three-month timeframe, reports UNB.
On June 25 last year, the High Court (HC) following a Public Interest Litigation writ petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB) handed the government a 12-point guideline, including constitution of the NRPC, to save the rivers around the capital from encroachment and pollution, as the onslaughts on the rivers by grabbers triggered wide-scale protests.
The HC in its guidelines directed the government to form the NRPC consisting of experts within three months in a bid to preserve and protect the rivers across the country, which would make long-term and short-term plans in this regard.
Advocate Manzil Murshid, president of HRPB, issued the legal notice to the secretaries of seven ministries -- Planning, Finance, Forest and Environment, LGRD and Cooperatives, Shipping, Communications and Water Resources.
The notice carries a warning that the government authorities would face contempt-of-court charge if they failed to constitute the Commission within a week of receipt of the notice.
On June 25 last year, the High Court (HC) following a Public Interest Litigation writ petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB) handed the government a 12-point guideline, including constitution of the NRPC, to save the rivers around the capital from encroachment and pollution, as the onslaughts on the rivers by grabbers triggered wide-scale protests.
The HC in its guidelines directed the government to form the NRPC consisting of experts within three months in a bid to preserve and protect the rivers across the country, which would make long-term and short-term plans in this regard.
Advocate Manzil Murshid, president of HRPB, issued the legal notice to the secretaries of seven ministries -- Planning, Finance, Forest and Environment, LGRD and Cooperatives, Shipping, Communications and Water Resources.
The notice carries a warning that the government authorities would face contempt-of-court charge if they failed to constitute the Commission within a week of receipt of the notice.