The High Court has issued a rule questioning why the failure to prevent severe air pollution caused by a fire at the Matuail landfill, the largest waste disposal site under Dhaka South City Corporation, should not be declared illegal. The bench of Justice Fatema Najib and Justice A.F.M. Saiful Karim issued the rule following a preliminary hearing on a related writ petition.

The court asked why the inaction or failure to control toxic smoke and air pollution from waste burning under the Matuail Sanitary Landfill Expansion Project should not be deemed unlawful. It also sought explanations for the absence of preventive measures through law enforcement and implementation of the project’s master plan. The secretaries of the Local Government and Environment ministries, the CEO of Dhaka South City Corporation, the director of the Department of Environment in Dhaka, the project director of the landfill expansion, and the district commissioner were directed to respond.

Lawyer Abul Kalam Azad, who represented the petitioner, argued that open dumping and burning of waste are prohibited under air pollution control regulations, yet the city corporation’s own project has become a major pollution source.