'Ministries should not only make laws, but also implement them': Khulna mayor criticises polythene ban

Khulna City Corporation Mayor Talukder Abdul Khaleque today (30 April) raised questions about the implementation of the law banning the use of polythene in the country.

"The law of the country prohibits the use of polythene. Still, polythene is being used everywhere every day. So what is the need for the law to ban polythene?" said the mayor at a roundtable on 'Climate financing and collaborative strategies to address associated threats' at a hotel in Khulna.

In response, Imdadul Haque, deputy director of Khulna office of the Department of Environment, said, "More than 100 tonnes of polythene is used in our country daily. However, we are conducting regular mobile courts to prevent this."

Dissatisfied with his reply, the mayor said, "You speak against polythene only in seminars. In fact, you can't stop it. And your ministry has to find out what is the alternative. The ministry should not only make laws, it should also implement them at the field level through you."

Speaking at the roundtable, Professor Tushar Kanti Roy, head of Urban and Rural Planning Department of Khulna University of Engineering and Technology, highlighted various aspects of Khulna city as a result of climate change. 

"We have cut down trees in the city and destroyed agricultural land in an unplanned way. It has spoiled our environment. Now the temperature is increasing due to climate change. Our losses cannot be mitigated if urbanisation is not planned properly," he said.

In response the mayor said, "There is a government organisation called Khulna Development Authority for proper urban planning in this city. They don't do any work. They have prepared the master plan in name only. They do nothing according to the master plan and later, the blame falls on the mayor."