CHITTAGONG, Oct 19 (BSS): The Department of Environment (DoE) in the port city is considering taking tougher action against defiant industry owners to compel them to comply with the government decision as the dateline of June 30 next year is approaching for taking appropriate measures for checking environment pollution including setting up of Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) by respective industrial entrepreneurs.

On the other hand, industry owners and trade body leaders have sought facilities of soft-term loan for the entrepreneurs to set up ETP arguing that except a few, most of the entrepreneurs are unable to have such an expensive technology as money equivalent to about 30 per cent of total investment for an industry is required for it.

The government in principle agreed to work and implement exactly an earlier directive from the High Court to ensure necessary protective measures particularly setting up of ETP facility at all applicable industrial premises in the country aiming at checking the environment pollution by industrial waste by June 30, 2010.

According to Chittagong DoE office, most of the industries in the port city and its outskirts, which discharge a substantial quantity of dangerous effluents causing serious environmental degradation, still do not have ETP on their industry premises despite repeated directives by the authorities concerned.

"We are now reminding the owners and concerned authorities of all public and private commercial and industrial ventures to take necessary environmental protective measures including setting up of ETP fixing a logical timeframe but we would not have any other option but to go for tougher legal action after expiry of the dateline", DoE (Chittagong) Director Abdus Sobhan said.

As per Bangladesh Environment Preservation Act 1995, an accused can be punished with imprisonment for up to 10 years with Tk 1.0 million (10 lakh) penalty.

Besides, DoE is empowered to file case against any defiant accused of harming the environment and shut operations of the concerned industrial or commercial venture.

He said entire marine coast of the region has been worst affected for a long due to spillage of huge quantity of industrial effluent there that poses a great threat to its the existence and ecosystem.

A study carried out about two years ago revealed that 730 private and public-owned different category industrial units on the banks of the Karnaphuli have been dumping huge amounts of hazardous industrial wastes in the river regularly which are affecting water quality, ecosystem and other aquatic resources.

"A large number of city dwellers particularly the inhabitants on both banks of the river are not free from the harmful affects of the pollution in the Karnaphuli river as they are directly or indirectly dependent on the river water", Idris Ali of Chemistry Department of Chittagong Government College observed.