About 66 per cent of the industrial units made illegal financial deals at various stages of obtaining environmental clearance certificates from the Department of Environment (DoE), a TIB survey revealed.
Illegal financial transactions ranging from Tk36,000 to Tk 1,08,800 took place between the surveyed industrial units and the DoE to obtain each of environmental clearance certificates, the survey found.
The study also revealed that 51 per cent of the factories allegedly resort to irregularities while receiving environmental clearance certificates.
The TIB also said corruption has been instutionalised in the DoE due to loopholes in the existing laws along with their poor implementation, irregularities among a segment of the officials and dearth of transparency in all indices of good governance.
Findings of the study titled 'Governance Challenges of the Department of Environment and Way Forward' were unveiled at a virtual press conference organised by the Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) on Wednesday.
TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman, Advisor to TIB Executive Management Prof Dr Sumaiya Khair and Director Mohammad Rafiqul Hasan joined the conference among others.
TIB Research Fellow Md Newazul Moula, who conducted the survey and prepared the report, presented the findings at the press briefing.
There are major loopholes in the existing laws related to environment protection and the DoE also lacks adequate human resources that hinders discharging respective duties.
"Technical and environmental knowledge is essential for auditing the Department of Environment, but those who conduct the audit lack such knowledge," an interviewee was quoted as saying in the report.
Some 51 per cent of the surveyed factories are operating with expired environmental clearance certificates (ECC), the report said, adding that of them 70 per cent have not applied for renewal till date.
Besides, 72 per cent industrial units that received clearance certificates from the DoE are located in residential areas, which goes against law.
The research was conducted between April 2019 and December 2021. Some 353 industrial units which received environmental clearance certificates were surveyed while the stakeholders were interviewed.
The report also presented a 10-point recommendation to overcome the crisis including appointment of top officials with specialised knowledge and experience at the top level of the department instead of picking officials on deputation.
For proper enforcement of the law, large development projects and industrial plants responsible for environmental pollution must be held accountable, beyond fear, pressure and financial temptation, the TIB report suggested.
It also called for adequate logistic support for the DoE, availability of information, and sharing staffs' wealth statement with top officials.
The law should be amended so that the common people can have the opportunity to file cases directly in the environmental court, the report added.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Iftekharuzzaman said all indices of the good governance addressed in research revealed a weakening position of the DoE.
"A cohort of the DoE staffs are getting involved with irregularities in collusion with the industrial units' owners", he said adding such practices resulted in the DoE's graft indulgence.
Highlighting the importance of restoring good governance in the DoE, he said it is essential for safeguarding the environment and achieving the related SDG targets.
