Over 1,100 mobile courts conducted, 699 brick kilns shut down in anti-pollution drives
The extensive drives, part of a special initiative by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, led to 2,846 cases being filed against violators
The Department of Environment (DoE) has conducted 1,191 mobile court operations across Bangladesh between 2 January and 10 July this year, collecting over Tk25.61 crore in fines for environmental violations, including air and noise pollution and illegal polythene production.
The extensive drives, part of a special initiative by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, led to 2,846 cases being filed against violators.
According to a press release issued by the ministry today (11 July), enforcement efforts focused on controlling emissions from vehicles and industrial units, shutting down illegal brick kilns, and curbing the use of banned polythene.
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To combat air pollution, the DoE targeted black smoke emissions from unfit vehicles, illegal brick kilns, steel mills, lead-acid battery recycling plants, waste-disposing factories, and other pollutant-emitting industries.
A total of 483 illegal brick kiln chimneys were demolished and operations halted, 216 kilns were ordered to close, and unburnt bricks were destroyed at 132 sites. Additionally, utility services to 91 industrial units were disconnected, and two individuals were sentenced to one month's imprisonment without labour.
Six unauthorised lead-melting factories had eight truckloads of equipment seized and were permanently shut down.
Between 3 November 2024 and 10 July 2025, 477 mobile courts were conducted to crack down on the illegal use of banned polythene bags. These drives resulted in Tk6.74 lakh in fines imposed on 904 establishments, with 245,707 kilograms of polythene seized.
On a single day, 10 July DoE conducted two mobile court drives in Dhaka's Mirpur and Kishoreganj under the Noise Pollution (Control) Rules 2006. These led to six cases being filed and Tk6,500 in fines. In another drive under the Environment Conservation Act, a Kishoreganj establishment was fined Tk13,000 and 27.4kg of polythene was confiscated.
Furthermore, two enforcement actions in Narayanganj and Pabna led to the disconnection of utilities at two separate sites.
The ministry stated that these anti-pollution drives will continue with greater rigour in the coming months to protect public health and the environment.
