Urban Environmental Governance in Bangladesh: Dysfunctionality and Fantasy Law

Abstract

The achievable quality of environmental protection is not equal across the countries of the world. The developing world presents distinct challenges for the most well-environmentally-intentioned legislators. This paper studies this issue through a case study of environmental governance in a divisional city-Rajshahi, Bangladesh, a country of the developing nations of the world. It is empirical research mainly based on primary data which were collected through a questionnaire survey, key informant interview, and observation technique. The central finding is that the policies are almost state of the art but they have little effect in practice. Local governments carrying out development projects need to cut corners to get needed housing, water supply, roads, and other infrastructure to the people who need it: environmental controls are often the first corners cut. The paper proposes workable solutions. The process of environmental clearance needs to be democratized for making it effective. There should have a conscientious program of consciousness-raising among the people to make them effective protectors of the environment. Resources need to be found to modernize infrastructures and provide effective waste disposal, drinking water, sewerage, and other services. Law enforcement agency needs sharp teeth in the environmental area so that penalties for non-compliance really are imposed and meaningful.

Full text

Social Science Journal, No. 21, 2017, University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh, ISSN 1728-1474
Urban Environmental Governance in Bangladesh:
Dysfunctionality and Fantasy Law
A.K.M. Mahmudul Haque, PhD *
Abstract
The achievable quality of environmental protection is not equal across the
countries of the world. The developing world presents distinct challenges for
the most well-environmentally-intentioned legislators. This paper studies this
issue through a case study of environmental governance in a divisional city-
Rajshahi, Bangladesh, a country of the developing nations of the world. It is an
empirical research mainly based on primary data which were collected through
questionnaire survey, key informant interview, and observation technique. The
central finding is that the policies are almost state of the art but they have little
effect in practice. Local governments carrying out development projects need
to cut corners to get needed housing, water supply, roads and other
infrastructure to the people who need it: environmental controls are often the
first corners cut. The paper proposes workable solutions. The process of
environmental clearance needs to be democratized for making it effective.
There should have a conscientious program of consciousness-raising among the
people to make them effective protectors of the environment. Resources need to
be found to modernize infrastructures and provide effective waste disposal,
drinking water, sewerage and other services. Law enforcement agency needs
sharp teeth in the environmental area so that penalties for non-compliance
really are imposed and meaningful.
Introduction
The state of environmental governance is not same in different parts of the world.
In Least Developed Countries (LDCs) like Bangladesh, the choice between
environmental protection and economic development is often a hard question. No
nation wants to destroy its environment and make itself unlivable. Yet no nation
wants to protect the plants and animals but condemn its people to hunger and
illness. Developed countries often have the resources to have 'guns and butter`
here, that means both environmental protection and economic security for the
people. Yet poor countries often do not have such easy choices available to them.
They often live in a zero-sum world.
The hard choices are made even more difficult by the lack of appropriate policies
and programs to achieve effective environmental governance. Yet, even where
the policies and programs are right on paper, often there is no action to achieve
their goals in the developing world. Officials who should make them reality may
be poorly informed of what action to take, lack the resources to take necessary
*Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi,
Bangladesh. E-mail: akmmahmudul@yahoo.com

88 Dysfunctionality and Fantasy Law
action or may even put their own families‟ enrichment ahead of the public good.
Consequently, the environment, society, the economy and ultimately, ordinary
people suffer.
The term “fantasy law” was coined by Effron, J. It refers to the failure of “law
and development” policy makers who imported laws from developed countries
into developing countries in the 1960s: the law changed but nothing else did
(Efron, 1985: 92). Because of the divergent conditions that exist between
developing countries and those in the developed world, reform of legal
institutions had little or no effect on social or economic conditions in the former
set of countries (Davis and Trebilcock, 2008:1-62). Here, the argument is that
donor-inspired, western-style environmental protection legislation was ignored
and achieved nothing because of the differing conditions (cultural, economic,
etc.) in the western countries and Bangladesh. This paper studies the real
situation of environmental governance in a divisional city of Bangladesh,
comparing it with the excellent policies written in the central legal framework. In
the process of this study, a better understanding of what is really achievable for
saving our Earth where we live in, and how to achieve it in the developing
majority of the nations of the world can be gained.
Materials and Methods
Both qualitative and quantitative data have been used in this research. Data have
been collected from both primary and secondary sources. Primary sources
include field studies, questionnaire survey, general review of the environmental
activities, government rules and policies, etc. Secondary sources that have been
used in this research are various research reports and articles, official statistics,
relevant books, unpublished study documents, reports, theses/dissertations, daily
newspapers, websites, etc. Questionnaire survey, in-depth interview, and
observation have been used to discover the actual use of environmental laws and
policies in practice. Data have been collected from 10 local government officials
and 60 field staff who have involved themselves in implementing environmental
policies, as well as 120 non-governmental stakeholders from the communities,
such as, residents and civil society members. Field survey has been conducted in
the middle of 2014.
Study Area
The study has been conducted on the Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) which
is one the eleven City Corporations in Bangladesh. RCC covers an area of total
96.72 sq. km. It is the fourth largest city of Bangladesh with a semi-cosmopolitan
nature. Rajshahi is a growing city of 795451 people (Census, 2011) in the

Social Science Journal, No. 21, 2017 89
northwest corner of Bangladesh, across the Ganges River from India and about 3
hours‟ drive from India on its side of the river (Panday and Jamil, 2010:17-31).
Although the environment of Rajshahi is comparatively clean as there is a few
industries to produce air or water pollution and few cars, the city historically has
problems with open sewers, dumping of building materials along public roads,
rubbish disposal in open tips, pollution of ponds by sewerage and by improper
use of ponds as washing sites for people, clothes and animals. Most people rely
on “tube wells”: deep wells sunk to tap the natural underground water supply and
powered by human pumping (for drinking water).
Bangladesh Environmental Protection Law and Policy
Environmental regulation has a very recent history in Bangladesh. Some of what
we may today call “environmental law” came to Bangladesh, as a part of British
India from 1757 to 1947, from the English common law: like the law of public
nuisance (Pervez, 2015:1). However, there was no attempt at a coordinated
environmental policy until the 1990s. The Constitution of Bangladesh does not
explicitly include any right to a healthy environment as a fundamental right.
However, it has been recognized that every citizen has the right to protection
from “...action detrimental to the life, liberty, body, reputation or property unless
these are taken in accordance with law, and no person shall be deprived of life or
personal liberty save in accordance with law” (The Constitution of the People‟s
Republic of Bangladesh, 2011: Article 31-32). These two Articles together
incorporate the fundamental „right to life‟. The Supreme Court of Bangladesh
(Appellate Division) has recognized that such a right can include a right to
“ecological balance” in Mohiuddin Farooque vs Bangladesh and Others:
Article 31 and 32 of our constitution protect right to life as a
fundamental right. It encompasses within its ambit, the protection
and preservation of environment, ecological balance, free from
pollution of air and water, sanitation without which life can
hardly be enjoyed. Any act or omission contrary to there will be
violated of the said right to life (Farooque vs Bangladesh and
Others, 1996:438).
There are about 200 statutes which have relevance to environmental issues.
Among them, the BECA (Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act) 1995 is
the major piece of environmental legislations. The BECA, to some extent,
recognized the Rio Principles of precaution, polluter‟s pays and people‟s
participation. The BECA replaced the earlier Environmental Pollution Control
Ordinance 1977 and added a new dimension to environmental management. The
most important parts of the BECA include a requirement that all new buildings

90 Dysfunctionality and Fantasy Law
and industries get an environmental impact assessment and environmental
clearance certificate. BECA 1995 provides, in section 12, that no industry shall
be established and no project shall be undertaken anywhere without obtaining
environmental clearance from the DG (Director-General) of DoE (Department of
Environment), in the manner prescribed by the Rules (BECA, 1995: Section 12).
The DG of DoE can order that action harmful to the environment must be
stopped and compensation must be paid (BECA, 1995: Section 4.3). Anyone
polluting water or land can be required to clean it up at their own expense. In
2000, Parliament enacted an Urban Water Body Conservation Act, 2000 to
protect Bangladesh‟s many ponds. Filling up of urban water bodies, a common
problem, is prohibited without the permission of concerned authority. Those
illegally doing so can be required to restore the water bodies at their own expense
(Mega City…Water Reservoir Conservation Act, 2000: Section 6). In 2000,
Parliament also enacted an Environment Court Act to provide for special and
expeditious resolution of lawsuits and prosecutions involving environmental
issues. An environmental court will be set up in each Administrative Division
and an Appellate Court will be set up in Dhaka. (Environment Court Act, 2000:
Section 4.1). A joint District Judge or Judicial Officer will constitute the
Environment Court (Environment Court Act, 2000: Section 4.2). In 2009, the
LGCCA (Local Government City Corporations Act) gave local governments
many powers to control public nuisance, disposal of waste, provide public toilets
and take other actions related indirectly to environmental protection (LGCCA,
2009: Article 1).
In addition, Government has made many rules and announced many policies to
use these statutes, including the National Environment Policy, 1992 as amended.
For example, Government has defined standards for emissions into air and water,
classified certain types of development as dangerous, less dangerous and least
dangerous to the environment. Government has also established goals for solid
waste management. Thus, the needed policies and statutes are present. If they are
followed, there will be no development without the environmental impact
assessment and clearance certificate needed to assure that it produces no
environmental harm. Water bodies will not be filled in unless the local
governments are satisfied that it is necessary. Environmental cases will be
expeditiously and sensitively resolved in special courts for this purpose. Local
governments will dispose waste, control public nuisances and obstruction of
highways by building material and provide drinking water and sewerage
facilities. Some western countries would be envious of such a legal and policy
framework.

Social Science Journal, No. 21, 2017 91
Environmental Governance in Rajshahi City Corporation in Practice
Some case studies have been conducted to get a more comprehensive
understanding of environmental issue consideration in practice in RCC (Rajshahi
City Corporation). These case studies are selected development projects which
have already been completed by the RCC. The Development Project
Proforma/Proposal (DPP) of selected projects and their Project Completion
Reports (PCR) have been studied. At the same time, RCC stakeholders and
officials have also been interviewed about their role in these projects.
Consideration of Environmental Issues during Planning of Development
Projects
The planning process of development projects in Bangladesh requires primary
consultation with a broad base of groups: beneficiaries, project-affected people
and community leaders, elected representatives, disadvantaged groups and
different development agencies in the research area (Rabbani, 2012: 57).
However, during interviews (stakeholders and field staff), most of the
respondents (86.87%) reported that RCC does not consult with them at the
time of planning of development projects, while 13.33% of the respondents
abstained from answering. No one said that RCC consults with them in this
regard. Table 1 shows the data.
Table 1: Consideration of Environmental Issues in Planning
Variables
Frequency
Does RCC consult with you during
planning of development projects?
Yes
00 (00%)
No
156 (86.87%)
No Comment
24 (13.33%)
Do you think that RCC considers
environmental issues during planning of
development projects?
Zero Consideration
71 (39.44%)
Moderate
Consideration
107 (59.44%)
Full Consideration
02 (1.11%)
Do you give any information to the RCC
for improving environment of your area?
Yes
25 (13.89%)
No
134 (74.44%)
No Comment
21 (11.67%)
[Source: Field Survey, 2014]
39.44% of respondents believe that RCC does not consider environmental
issues during the planning of development projects while 59.44% say that RCC
moderately considers environmental issues. Only 1.11% of the respondents say
that RCC fully takes environmental issues into account during planning of the
development projects.
Of course, there are some limitations to the credibility of these findings: (1) the
stakeholders opine that they are not involved in the process, so their opinions

92 Dysfunctionality and Fantasy Law
may have no basis (2) Asians, culturally, do not like to be hard making negative
statements: many of those say that the RCC moderately considers
environmental impact may really be said that there is no consideration at all.
The fact is that only 1.1% can affirmatively state that the RCC fully takes
environmental considerations into account may deserve more weight. Still, in a
small town, many of those not directly involved in a process may know through
gossip, what is really going on.
In response to another question, the vast majority (74.44%) of the respondents
replied that they do not give any information to the RCC authority for
improving the environment of their area. Only 13.89% of the respondents
stated that they provide information to the RCC in this regard. 11.67%
respondents refrained from answering.
Key informants (for example, the Council‟s Executive Engineer and a Town
Planner) report that they have no budget or time for carrying out environmental
impact assessment of proposed projects. They said that the Planning
Commission‟s `Proforma' only asks a question about any adverse
environmental impact, which they answer to the best of their ability. Another
key informant, an Engineer from the Project Planning Unit said that projects
are selected according to what is popular and what the governing party
promised to do in the last election. So, fulfillment of the commitment through
physical development is given priority rather than environmental consideration.
Consideration of Environmental Issues during Project Implementation
At the City Corporation level, each project has a committee from the Works
Division, named the Urban Infrastructure Development and Conservation, which
is responsible for the implementation of planning. This committee monitors
implementation in order to ensure that the project has no adverse impact on
environment or biodiversity. This committee of the Works Division is assigned to
conduct environmental and social impact assessment of projects. It collects data
and provide a progress report to concerned higher authorities about the level of
consideration of environmental impact. So, data have been collected to obtain
information about the role of the Works Division regarding environmental
assessment in practice.
The field survey reveals that 52.78% of the respondents have heard about such
committees of the Works Division, whereas 47.22% have not. 80.56% reply that
they do not know about the duties and responsibilities of such committees or
other related authorities. Only 19.44% of the respondents have some idea about
the role and responsibilities of such committees or any other authority related to
the implementation of projects. 94.44% say that committee members never

Social Science Journal, No. 21, 2017 93
discuss environmental issues with them while only 5.56% of the respondents say
that they do so. Table 2 shows the data.
Table 2: Consideration of Environmental Issues in Project Implementation
Variables
Frequency
(%)
Do you know anything about committees related to
development project implementation?
Yes
95 (52.78%)
No
85 (47.22%)
Do you know the duties and responsibility of such
committees or other authorities in regard of project
implementation?
Yes
35 (19.44%)
No
145 (80.56%)
Did any member of such committees discuss with you about
consideration of environment issues during implementation
of development projects?
Yes
10 (5.56%)
No
170 (94.44%)
[Source: Field Survey, 2014]
There are Urban Infrastructure Development and Conservation Committees in
RCC which are assigned to consider environmental issues during urban
infrastructure development. But, they do not go out to the communities to collect
data on environmental impacts of the development processes. Almost no one sees
them or hears from them. Perhaps they monitor environmental impact solely
from the reports of the project implementation staff. If so, this does not seem to
be a very efficient or serious consideration of these important matters.
In Key Informant Interview, the ex-Chief Engineer of RCC explained that
committees related to project implementation do not actively play their assigned
role. Most of the members of these committees are not well aware of
environmental rules and regulations. Members of these committees are mainly
selected by the Mayor and local-level influential leaders of the ruling party. So,
they emphasize mainly their personal and party interests, rather than considering
environmental issues in implementation of the projects. Moreover, ordinary
people are not well aware of environment issues, nor are they interested in
participating in environment-related discussions. Presumably, this belief is why
the discussions are never held.
Consideration of Environmental Issues at other Statutory Meetings
The Local Government (City Corporations) Act 2009 requires that the Council
hold monthly meetings and that Ward Councilors hold periodic open meetings in
their Wards (LGCCA 2009: 49.3). However, field data indicate that
environmental issues are only discussed at the monthly meetings occasionally, if
an issue arises, and that the Ward meetings are rarely held and poorly attended.

94 Dysfunctionality and Fantasy Law
77% of the respondents reported that they had never taken part in a Ward
meeting on environmental or any other issues.
Similarly, the statute requires the Corporation to create Standing Committees for
environmental development with popular participation (Ibid: Article 50). Most of
the respondents (83.33%) never heard about the Standing Committees on Waste
Management, Urban Planning and Development, or Environmental Development
and 85.56% did not know what they do.
What is happening to Rajshahi’s Ponds?
Traditionally, Rajshahi was a city of ponds. Small lakes are often used for
pisciculture, provide drinking and bathing water for the poor and play an important
role in the local ecosystem. Especially, they act as reservoirs during the period of
monsoon rains, catching water runoff to prevent flooding. As the ponds have
tended to disappear over this time, flooding has sometimes become a problem,
overwhelming the system of open drains which takes waste water to the river.
There were 4,283 ponds in Rajshahi Municipality in 1961. The number of ponds
in the city further declined in 2,171 in 1981. Total ponds were only 729 in 1991
(The Dhaka Mirror, 2011: February 03). According to the most recent data, there
are only 313 ponds in the city (Rajshahi Development Authority, 2011). Only 24
ponds out of 252 were filled up within 30 years (from 1950 to 1980). However, the
rate of pond loss increased rapidly in the last quarter of the twentieth century. 63
ponds were filled up between 1980 and 2000. Within the first decade of the
present century, 140 ponds (the highest amount and more than 55%) were
destroyed. This trend is continuing year-by-year.
Among the filled ponds, the greatest number (85.32%) was filled up privately by
the owners of the ponds. Only 14.68% of lost ponds were filled up by state
agencies (Rajshahi Development Authority, Rajshahi City Corporation, Rajshahi
University, Bangladesh Railway, and other educational institutions, mainly for
the purpose of infrastructural, transportational and educational development.
(Table 3)
Table 3: Who Have Filled the Ponds in the City?
Who fills in ponds
Frequency
Percentage (%)
Privately by the Owners
215
85.32%
By the State
Agencies
RDA
13
37
14.68%
RCC
4
RU
2
Railway
2
Others
16
Total: 252
100%

Social Science Journal, No. 21, 2017 95
(Source: Developed by the researcher based on Siddiqui, M., 2012:170-222)
Most of the ponds (41.27%) were filled up for commercial purposes like plot
business, building of commercial centers, etc. 28.58% of the ponds were filled up
for residential purposes, 4.36% for educational purposes, 5.16% of the ponds
were filled up for transport purposes and the rest of the ponds were filled up for
other purposes like construction of mosques, playgrounds, parks, government
office building, etc. (Table 4)
Table 4: Purposes of Filling the Ponds
Purposes
Frequency
Percentage (%)
Residential
72
28.58%
Commercial
Plot Business
81
114
41.27%
Others
23
Educational
11
4.36%
Transport
13
5.16%
Not in use yet
29
11.50%
Other
Purposes
Mosque
7
23
9.13%
Playground
4
Park
2
Govt. Office
Building
4
Others
6
Total 252
100%
[Source: Developed by the researcher based on Siddiqui, 2012:170-222]
In practice, the Urban Water Body Conservation Act 2000 has little effect.
Developers have a strategy. First, they connect drains to the pond so that it can be
fill up with human and other solid waste. Then the local people demand that the
pond is creating health hazard. At this point, no agency wants to stop the filling
of the pond with soil.
There are four agencies in Rajshahi responsible for pond protection: Rajshahi
Development Authority (RDA); Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC); Directorate of
Environment (DoE) of Rajshahi District; and District Administration of Rajshahi
(DAR). They are not coordinated and have few resources to be proactive in
preventing the damage of ponds. They disagree on which has the legal power to
take enforcement action. The RDA believes that they only have power to protect
ponds listed as such in the 2004 Master Plan for Rajshahi. The RDA‟s usual
reaction to a complaint is to ignore it, refer it to another agency or send a
threatening letter to a person who is filling up a pond but then take no further
action. They assert that they have filed a total of four court cases against persons

96 Dysfunctionality and Fantasy Law
40%
0%
8%
48%
4%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Legal notice Jail Fine No action Not known
who are filling up ponds without permission. No case has been finished yet and
no person has been ordered to re-excavate an illegally-filled pond, as the Urban
Water Bodies Conservation Act, 2000 provides. No one has been fined, no one
imprisoned and no illegally-built structure on filled land has been seized by these
agencies, as they have statutory authority to do so.
Although the City Corporation is required by law to seek permission to change
the classification of land from pond to some other classifications before filling a
pond, the Corporation has filled many ponds, some even over great public
protest. The Corporation does not take any permission and no one interferes.
Even the RDA, responsible to approve building proposals and protect ponds, has
filled ponds for its infrastructure development plan.
Research data in this study support these observations. Most of the respondents
(48%) state that no punitive measures are taken by the governing authorities to
protect ponds. 40% of the respondents reply that both RDA and RCC only serve
a legal notice against the lawbreakers. A small portion (only 8%) reported that
they had to pay fines and the rest of the respondents (4%) did not answer
(Chart1).
Chart 1: Punitive Measures against the Illegal Filling of Ponds
[Source: Field Survey, 2014]
52% of the respondent owners of lost ponds reply that their ponds have been
filled up by themselves. 48% say that the ponds were filled up by the buyers.
Respondents have also been asked, whether they know or not, if they wish to fill
up any pond, did they take any permission from the RDA first? Answering to this
question, most of the respondents (78%) say that they know this and only 22%
reply in the negative. However, at the time of filling up their ponds, 76% of
respondents did not seek any permission from the local authority. Only a few
(10%) said that they had such permission and 14% did not answer.
Most of the respondents (82%) in the field survey have replied that dirt-filling of
ponds is continuing in RCC, while 18% of respondents do not know about this.

Social Science Journal, No. 21, 2017 97
In another question, 6% respondents think that dirt-fillers get permission from the
authority during dirt-filling of ponds, but 64% of the respondents report that no
permission had been received by the dirt-fillers when they filled their ponds. 30%
of respondents do not know about this. 60% of the respondents state that RDA
and RCC do not take any action against the dirt-fillers to prevent dirt-filling of
water bodies.
The agencies also cannot perform their duties to conserve ponds in the city
properly because of the pressure of political persons, high officials, and
influential persons of the city. A daily newspaper reports that,
a pond in Rajshahi is being filled up by a Member of Parliament of the ruling
party for the construction of a multi-storied building, despite a court ruling and
RDA‟s warning twice. The MP, however, said that RDA had no right to serve
notices as the land was not earmarked as a pond in land documents (The Daily
Star, 2012: February 20).
Besides, the officials of RDA and DoE cannot perform their duties properly
because they are sometimes threatened by the miscreants and criminals.
Sometimes it is impossible even to take pictures of illegal filling of ponds
without any risk of life or limb.
So, the net effect of the Urban Water Body Conservation Act, 2000 is zero.
Ponds are disappearing daily. People are filling them up without the required
permission and no one is really disturbing them about it. The enforcement
agencies themselves are filling ponds as a part of their infrastructural
development without any reference to the statutory requirements.
Solid Waste Disposal
Under the Local Government (City Corporations) Act, 2009, Rajshahi City
Corporation is clearly responsible for the management of solid waste disposal
within its jurisdiction. The Government has also laid out goals for solid waste
management including recycling and non-polluting disposal methods.
The Corporation has two sections to deal with solid waste disposal: the
Engineering Section and the Conservancy Section. Clearly, the Corporation staff
sweep the streets, muck out the drains (on to the roadsides) and transport solid
waste from local tips to a giant tip at Nawdapara, where poor people and animals
scavenge and a cattle market plays a spurious role in producing awful smells.
There is a system: the waste goes: i) from household to rickshaw van, ii) from
rickshaw van to open area, iii) from open area to demountable container/open bin, iv)
from open bin to lorry, and v) from lorry to open tip.
However, most of the waste is recyclable. The major portion (79% to 85%) of
solid waste, in residential areas and market areas of RCC is compostable. The

98 Dysfunctionality and Fantasy Law
average percentage of compostable waste in residential areas is 82.47%, non-
compostable waste is 13.93% and ash content is 3.60%. On the other hand,
similar compositions for market areas are 84.77%, 7.02% and 8.21%,
respectively. The large quantity of degradable organic contents indicates the
necessity for frequent collection and removal to avoid rotting and attraction of
insects. This also indicates the potential of recycling of organic waste for
resource recovery.
Yet the Corporation has no money for recycling or even sorting the waste. Even
hazardous waste, from city‟s many hospitals and clinics, is not separated. All the
different types of waste are left in Nawdapara to rot, spreading stench and
disease, to scavengers, staff and to the nearby local residents. The Corporation
supplies protective gear to its uneducated, poorly-paid, contractual solid waste
disposal staff and tries to educate them to use it. Most of them do not use the gear
and boycott the training. Some of these staff are used as personal servants by
Ward Commissioners, not work for cleaning the city at all, and some other draw
salaries without any work at all because they are backed by political protectors.
76.1 % of respondents believe that waste disposal places are not sufficient in RCC
and only 23.9 % reply that they have sufficient waste disposal place or tip near
their houses. Most of the stakeholders report that RCC cleaners collect waste
from households every day (67.8%), only 32.2% report that waste is collected
irregularly. On the other hand, 100% of field staff state that RCC cleaners collect
household wastes every day. The highest number (77.19%) of the respondents
report that inhabitants give their household wastes to the RCC cleaners,
household wastes are discharged in the adjacent drains (39.06 %), and wastes are
thrown in the open place or roadsides (57.5 %). 18.75 %, 5.0 % and 5.94 %
respondents state that inhabitants dispose of their household wastes in the tips,
water bodies, and on their own land, respectively (Chart 2). An important finding
is that most of the RCC inhabitants have a lack of consciousness about the

Social Science Journal, No. 21, 2017 99
Chart 2: Household Solid Waste Disposal Habits of RCC
Inhabitants
77.19%
39.06%
57.50%
18.75%
5.00%
5.94%
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
80.00%
RCC cleaners are
given Disposal in the
adjacent drains Disposal in the open
place/roadsides Disposal in the
dustbin/RCC
specified area
Disposal in the
water bodies Disposal in own
land/ditch
[Source: Field Survey] 2014
proper disposal of their household wastes. RCC still has more than 1,200 open
tips, along with 18 secondary points, where primary wastes are accumulated.
Respondents were asked whether these dustbins or secondary points produce
stenches or not. 51.1% respondents reply that their nearby waste disposal places
are not cleaned regularly. Thus, they spread offensive smell and pollute the
environment. 38.3 % state the opposite. 10.6 % give no answer. However,
observation shows that, although all the secondary points are cleaned regularly,
tips are done on irregular basis: these may become air pollutants.
Again, the solid waste issue which is a seriously major health and environmental
problem in Rajshahi, is only another demonstration of the famous Scottish
proverb: “the best laid plans … gang aft a glen”. The policies are there, the
responsibilities are allocated but those are involved in this sphere ignore them.
They do what they know how to do and what they have the resources to do as
best as they can. Regular cleaning of drains of human waste and leaving these
where people walk is considered a great sign of progress: this will also prevent
flooding during monsoon rains. Creation of more disposal places is another sign
of progress without that the rubbish would be everywhere, thrown onto the
roadsides and into the drains. To collect it and put it in one place is civilized and
organized.
Conclusions and Recommendations
The issue described in this paper is not a fluke of Bangladesh or of environmental
policy. The problem of “fantasy law”, when Asian and African legislators try to
copy European law and then no one in our society takes any notice of it, is well-
documented. The conclusion that emerges from the literature is that law must

100 Dysfunctionality and Fantasy Law
follow the values and consciousness of society. Society will never follow a law
whose values are alien, without any draconian measures.
So, firstly, policymakers must create an awareness sensibility among the
consciousness of the people. When ordinary people of Bangladesh become as
concerned about the environment as are ordinary Europeans, Americans and
Australasian today, they will change their behavior and put pressure on the state
to do likewise. The environment needs to be marketed on TV, radio and
billboards, as effectively as mobile phones because now even remote villagers
have cell phones. For the development of environment, politicians need to give
currency to their constituents as effectively as they campaign for their parties.
Secondly, resources must be provided: for training, for infrastructure and for
initiatives like recycling. Passing laws and issuing policies are easy but change
nothing. If people have nothing, they can ignore the law and do what they can.
Western solutions like privatization may not work where no one has the money
to pay a profit-generating price for services.
Indigenous and traditional solutions should be considered. Jute bags are less
polluting than plastic bags and will help the moribund jute industry to recover.
The current government revolutionized local governments by insisting on public
participation something like the ancient village meetings. If a developer has to
get planning permission from a local meeting instead of going into an office with
a stack of envelopes in his pocket and a local party leader at his side,
environmental impact assessments might actually be done and put impact on
development.
Much in the developing world, is done for show, including showing foreign
donors how the western the governments are. Some say that the advanced
legislation and policymaking on the environment in Bangladesh was never
intended to be any more than that. Certainly, it has brought in a haul of foreign
cash, especially to NGOs who have learned that connecting your project with the
environment (along with women, tribal and other hot topics) is an easy way to
get foreign grants. Where the money has gone is not clear: it certainly has not
saved the environment.
If the policymakers in Bangladesh want to be more than just show persons, then
they first must admit that fantasy law is not a solution to anything. They must
rally the people and build the systems that are consistent with their own limited
resources and their own culture, and are environment-friendly. It is much more
difficult to do something than to appear to do something.

Social Science Journal, No. 21, 2017
101
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