The High Court directed the government authorities not to issue any no objection certificate (NOC) for importing any scrap ships in the country without environmental and decontamination certificates. It also recalled an interim order of importing ship without environment clearance certificate (ECC) that was passed by another HC bench recently.
The HC earlier directed the government several times not to allow any ship breaking yards to run without environment clearance certificates. But none of the ship breaking yards took any ECC from the Directorate of Environment (DOE).
The court also directed the government to ensure submission of proper decontamination certificates as per the Basel Convention.
According to the Basel Convention, old ships are themselves treated as hazardous waste due to their inbuilt toxic substances. Cleaning ships made with toxic materials, including asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), lead, chromates, mercury, organic liquids (benzene etc), battery, is hard and involves huge cost.
A division bench comprising Justice Md Imman Ali and Justice Obaidul Hasan on Monday passed the order in response to a petition by Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA).
Earlier some of the ship breakers got an order from a bench on October 4 in which the bench directed the DoE to issue NOC to the ship breaking companies.
Source: The Daily Star; Wednesday, 13 October 2010
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