Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act 1995: Key Provisions Explained

Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act 1995: the statute section by section

The Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act 1995 is the statute every other environmental obligation in the country hangs from. It creates the Department of Environment, arms its Director General with directions that can shut a factory, lets the government declare ecologically critical areas, makes environmental clearance a precondition for any industrial unit or project, and sets a graded penalty table that reaches ten years' imprisonment for repeat offenders. Read with the Environment Court Act 2010 and the Environment Conservation Rules 2023, it is a complete enforcement code.

This guide reads the Act section by section, as amended in 2000, 2002 and 2010, and reproduces the section 15 penalty table in full. Day-to-day compliance, clearance categories and the impact assessment process are covered in companion TRW guides, linked where relevant, so this article stays with the statute itself.

Summary: Sections 3 to 4A give the Department of Environment its powers, including closure orders and utility disconnection; section 5 deals with ecologically critical areas; sections 6 to 6E impose specific prohibitions; sections 7 to 11 cover damage orders, complaints, excess discharge, entry and sampling; section 12 requires environmental clearance; section 14 provides a thirty-day administrative appeal; and section 15 sets the penalties. Offences are tried under the Environment Court Act 2010.

Key point: Closure orders do not come from section 7 or section 13. The power to close, prohibit or regulate an industry sits in section 4(3), subject to prior written notice except in an emergency, and section 4A(2) lets the Director General order electricity, gas, water and telephone suppliers to disconnect a unit that ignores it. Section 7 deals with ecosystem damage and compensation; section 13 only empowers the government to issue environmental guidelines.

At a glance

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Table of Contents

Where the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act sits in 2026

The Act is Act No. 1 of 1995, dated 16 February 1995. Section 21 repealed the Environmental Pollution Control Ordinance 1977, treated everything done under it as done under the Act and carried over the existing Department of Environment and its staff.[1]

Three amending Acts shaped the text in force. The 2000 amendment (Act No. 12 of 2000) replaced section 7. The 2002 amendment (Act No. 9 of 2002) added the overriding-effect clause in section 2A, the notice proviso to closure orders, section 4A, the polythene power in section 6A, a new section 11(2) on sample reports and corporate liability under section 16(2). The 2010 amendment (Act No. 50 of 2010) substituted sections 5, 12, 15 and 17, inserted sections 6B to 6E, 15A and 15B, and added new definitions.[1] [3]

Has there been a 2024 to 2026 amendment?

No. The official consolidated text, checked on 20 October 2026, records no amendment after 2010.[1] The interim government issued ordinances on forests, wildlife and wetlands, but none amending the 1995 Act. In June 2025 lawyers and campaigners called for amendments to the Act and the Environment Court Act to let citizens file cases directly, give the authorities administrative penalty powers and create a dedicated enforcement force.[11] Until Parliament acts, the 2010 text governs.

The parallel statutes that now surround it

On 7 April 2026 Parliament passed the Haor and Wetlands Conservation Act 2026, on the same day it converted fourteen interim-government ordinances into Acts.[12] [13] That regime runs alongside section 6E of the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act, which still prohibits filling or reclassifying any water body, so a haor project must be checked under both. For the wider statutory map, see our overview of environmental law in Bangladesh.

Definitions and the overriding-effect clause

Section 2 does real work, because several offences depend on it. "Pollution" covers any change in the temperature, taste, odour, density or other characteristics of air, water or soil, and any discharge harmful to public health, wildlife or any domestic, commercial, industrial, agricultural or recreational use. "Person" includes any company, association or body, incorporated or not. "Occupier" means whoever controls the affairs of a factory or premises, which is why plant managers, not just owners, receive directions.[1]

The 2010 amendment added four definitions that anchor specific prohibitions: "water body", covering rivers, canals, beels, haors, baors, ponds and other land so recorded in government land records or notified as wetland or flood-flow zone; "hazardous waste"; "hills and hillocks"; and "ecologically critical area", meaning an area declared under section 5.[1]

Section 2A provides that the Act, the rules and directions under it remain effective notwithstanding anything in any other law.[1] A trade licence, factory licence or zone approval does not displace a Department direction. Our guide to the factory licence in Bangladesh explains how those licences interact with clearance.

The Department of Environment and the Director General's powers

Section 3 establishes the Department of Environment, headed by a Director General appointed by the government. Section 4(1) is the engine of the Act: the Director General may take any action considered expedient and necessary to conserve the environment, improve standards and control and mitigate pollution, and may give any person written directions for that purpose. Section 4(2) lists, without limiting that power, coordination of other authorities, accident prevention and remedial directions, directions on hazardous substances, inspection of any place, plant or process, publication of pollution data and drinking-water monitoring.[1]

Closure, prohibition and regulation under section 4(3)

A section 4 direction may close, prohibit or regulate any industry, undertaking or process, and the person directed must comply. Since 2002 the Director General must first give the owner or occupier written notice and a reasonable opportunity to bring the operation into compliance, and the notice may warn that utilities will be disconnected under section 4A(2). Where pollution threatens to disrupt public life, a second proviso allows an immediate direction without notice. Section 4(4) lets a direction fix a deadline.[1]

Utility disconnection and police support under section 4A

Section 4A(1) obliges law enforcement agencies and public authorities to assist the Director General on request. Section 4A(2) is the sharpest tool in the Act: if an owner or occupier ignores a closure, prohibition or regulation direction, the Director General may order the supplier of electricity, gas, telephone, water or any other service to disconnect, and under section 4A(3) the supplier must comply whatever its contract says.[1] Buyers and lenders should treat a pending section 4 notice as a material risk; our note on buying an existing factory in Bangladesh covers how to diligence it.

Delegation and good-faith protection

Section 19 lets the government delegate its powers to the Director General or any officer, and the Director General to any Department officer, so most directions are issued by divisional and district officers. Section 18 bars proceedings against the government and Department staff for acts done in good faith.[1] Challenges therefore target authority, procedure and proportionality, not officers personally.

Ecologically critical areas under section 5

Section 5, substituted in 2010, allows the government, if satisfied that an area's ecosystem has reached or is threatened with a critical state through environmental degradation, to declare it an ecologically critical area by gazette notification. The notification must state the boundaries, map and legal description, which are displayed locally and treated as the documentary description of the area. The government must then adopt a management plan, and the notification must specify which harmful activities may not continue or begin there.[1]

The thirteen declared areas

Thirteen areas have been declared. Seven date from 1999: the ten-kilometre belt around the Sundarbans reserve forest, the Cox's Bazar to Teknaf beach, St Martin's Island, Sonadia Island, Hakaluki Haor, Tanguar Haor and Marjat Baor. Gulshan and Baridhara lakes followed in 2001; stretches of the Buriganga, Balu, Turag and Shitalakshya rivers in 2009; and the Jaflong-Dawki river in 2015.[6] The Halda river has been prepared for declaration but was not notified in the reporting we reviewed.[9]

The ECA Management Rules 2016

Section 20(2)(k), added in 2010, allows rules for managing these areas. The Ecologically Critical Area Management Rules of 22 September 2016 prohibit nine categories of activity, including cutting natural forest, hunting wildlife, destroying habitat, establishing polluting industries, discharging sewage or solid waste into water bodies and mineral extraction.[6] Implementation has lagged: the conservation fund the Rules provide for had still not been created by January 2026.[14]

Recent use of the power: the Sundarbans and St Martin's

On 20 April 2025 the executive committee of the National Environment and Climate Change Committee decided to prohibit any new industrial unit or project within ten kilometres of the Sundarbans ecologically critical area, with an expert panel to assess existing units.[7] The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change issued the gazette under section 5 in May 2025.[8] In late 2024 the government also announced limits on overnight stays and visitor numbers on St Martin's Island, with controls planned for Tanguar Haor.[9]

Consequences of breaching an ECA notification

A prohibited activity in a declared area breaches section 5(4). Under item 2 of the section 15 table, a first offence carries up to two years, a fine of up to Tk 2 lakh, or both; every later offence carries two to ten years, Tk 2 lakh to Tk 10 lakh, or both.[1] A first offence can be compounded under the Environment Court Act on permanently stopping the activity, filing an undertaking and paying at least Tk 50,000.[2] Anyone buying land near a declared area should check the gazette map first.

Specific prohibitions in sections 6 to 6E

The specific prohibitions sit in short sections, mostly inserted in 2002 and 2010, and each has its own line in the penalty table of the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act.[1]

• Section 6, vehicle emissions: no vehicle may run while emitting smoke or gas above prescribed standards. Officers may stop, test, detain and seize; an on-the-spot test is admissible; driver, owner or both are liable.
• Section 6A, harmful products: the government may by gazette ban or regulate the manufacture, import, sale, storage, distribution or commercial use of polythene bags or any other harmful product, with an exemption for exports.
• Section 6B, hills: no cutting or razing of any hill or hillock, public or private, unless required in the essential national interest with Department clearance.
• Section 6C, hazardous waste: production, handling, transport, import, export and disposal may be regulated by rules.
• Section 6D, ship breaking: every ship owner, importer and yard user must ensure that ship breaking causes no pollution or health risk through hazardous waste.
• Section 6E, water bodies: no filling or change of class of land identified as a water body, relaxable only in the essential national interest with Department clearance.

Section 6A is the provision most visibly enforced since 2024: the polythene ban was renewed for supermarkets from 1 October 2024 and extended to all bazaars and retail outlets from 1 November 2024, though enforcement remained uneven into 2026.[10]

Damage orders, complaints and excess discharge: sections 7 to 9

Section 7: compensation and corrective directions

Section 7, substituted in 2000, applies where any person's act or omission is directly or indirectly damaging, or has damaged, an ecosystem or any person or group. The Director General may assess the damage and direct compensation, corrective measures or both. If compensation is not paid, the Director General may sue for it, prosecute for non-compliance, or both, and may engage experts to assess the damage.[1]

A section 7 direction is an administrative assessment, not a judgment, so it is appealable under section 14 within thirty days and its quantum is open to challenge on evidence and method. Disobeying it is item 9 of the penalty table: one to two years, Tk 50,000 to Tk 2 lakh, or both for a first offence, and two to ten years, Tk 2 lakh to Tk 10 lakh, or both thereafter.[1]

Section 8: complaints by affected persons

Any person harmed or likely to be harmed by pollution may apply to the Director General for relief, and the Director General may hold a public hearing.[1] Rule 3 of the Environment Conservation Rules 2023 requires such applications to be disposed of within thirty working days.[4] For neighbouring communities this is the cheapest route to a direction against a polluter.

Section 9: discharge above standards

Where an act, event or accident causes or threatens discharge above prescribed limits, the person responsible and the occupier must control or mitigate it and inform the Director General immediately. The Director General must direct remedial measures, the Department's own remedial costs are recoverable as a public demand, and an on-the-spot test showing exceedance is admissible.[1] Failures under section 9 fall under item 10 of the table.

Entry, search and sampling under sections 10 and 11

Section 10 lets officers authorised by the Director General enter any building or place at reasonable times to inspect, examine plant, records and documents, search where an offence is reasonably suspected and seize evidence, following the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898. Anyone running an industrial process must give every assistance; failing to do so without reasonable cause is item 11 of the table, carrying one to three years, Tk 50,000 to Tk 3 lakh, or both.[1]

Section 11 sets the sampling procedure, and it is where many prosecutions are won or lost. The officer must give the occupier notice, sample in their presence, seal the container with both signatures, prepare a signed report countersigned by the occupier and send the sample immediately to the laboratory the Director General designates. If the occupier deliberately stays away or refuses to sign, the officer seals it before two witnesses. Under section 11(2) the report is admissible only subject to compliance with those steps.[1] Defence counsel should always demand the notice, sealing record, chain of custody and laboratory designation.

Environmental clearance under section 12

Section 12(1), substituted in 2010, provides that no industrial unit may be established and no project undertaken in any area without an environmental clearance certificate from the Director General. Section 12(2) required pre-existing units to obtain clearance immediately after the 2010 amendment took effect, closing the argument that legacy plants were exempt, and section 12(3) extends the requirement to any expansion.[1]

Section 12(4) requires the clearance rules to cover impact assessment reports, management plans, public consultation, access to information, the clearance committee, minimum conditions and appeals. Under section 12(5) the Department must update the list of industries and projects requiring clearance by 31 March each year and set minimum qualifications for those preparing assessments.[1]

How the Environment Conservation Rules 2023 implement section 12

The Rules were made under section 20 as S.R.O. No. 53, published on 5 March 2023, and repealed the Environment Conservation Rules 1997.[4] [5] Rule 5 classifies units and projects as Green, Yellow, Orange or Red by activity, pollution load and potential harm, and the Rules set the procedure and validity of location and environmental clearance, assessment criteria, effluent standards in rules 31 and 32, treatment plant requirements in rule 33, an appellate authority and fees.[4] Category procedure and renewal are covered in our guides to environmental compliance in Bangladesh and environmental impact assessment.

The statutory point is blunt: operating or expanding without clearance is item 12 of the section 15 table, carrying a minimum of two years' imprisonment or a Tk 1 lakh fine, up to five years or Tk 5 lakh, or both.[1]

Section 13: environmental guidelines

Section 13 is often mis-cited. It only empowers the government to issue environmental guidelines by gazette notification.[1] It confers no closure or direction power; enforcement against a unit runs through sections 4, 7, 9 and 12.

Appeals against Department orders under section 14

Any person aggrieved by a notice, order or direction under the Act or rules may appeal to an appellate authority constituted by the government within thirty days. If the appellant was prevented by unavoidable cause, the authority may allow up to thirty more days. The authority may have one or more members, and it must dispose of the appeal within three months.[1]

Section 14(1) makes the decision final and bars any suit against it.[1] That ouster does not prevent a constitutional challenge in the High Court Division to an order made without lawful authority or in breach of natural justice, but it closes the ordinary civil route. A business served with a closure, compensation or clearance-refusal order should appeal promptly and, where needed, prepare a writ petition in parallel. The 2023 Rules add procedure for the appellate authority.[4]

The section 15 offences and penalties table

Section 15, substituted in 2010, created a thirteen-item table. Most items have a first-offence band, often with a mandatory minimum, and a much higher band for every later offence; "or both" applies throughout. On a phone, scroll the table sideways.[1]

Reading the table

Items 1, 9 and 10, covering section 4 directions, section 7 damage orders and section 9 discharge duties, carry minimums of one year or Tk 50,000 even for a first offence. Item 12, operating without clearance, has no repeat band but the highest first-offence floor: two years or Tk 1 lakh. Item 13 is residual, covering breach of any other direction and obstructing or wilfully delaying the Director General. Section 15(2) lets the rules create further offences but caps them at two years, Tk 2 lakh, or both.[1]

Compensation and confiscation: sections 15A, 15B and 17

Under section 15A any person, group or public harmed by a breach of the Act, the rules or a section 7 direction, or the Director General on their behalf, may sue for compensation; section 17 places such suits in the environment court. Section 15B lets the court, on conviction, order confiscation or destruction of the machinery, vehicles or goods used in the offence.[1] For a manufacturer, losing production equipment can cost more than the fine.

Corporate, director and public-body liability under section 16

Where the offender is a company or association, section 16(1) deems its owner, partner, chairman, managing director, directors, managers, secretary and any directly involved officer or agent to have committed the breach, unless they prove it happened without their knowledge or that they used all reasonable efforts to prevent it. A body corporate can be convicted in the same proceedings but only fined, and section 16(3), added in 2010, applies the same rule to officers of government and public bodies.[1] A director without a documented compliance system and a record of acting on notices will struggle to discharge that burden.

How the Environment Court Act 2010 enforces the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act

The Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act defines the offences; the Environment Court Act 2010 (Act No. 56 of 2010), which repealed the 2000 Act, provides the courts. It applies to "environmental law", meaning itself, the 1995 Act, other notified laws and their rules, and it overrides other laws.[2]

Three tiers of court

Section 4 provides for environment courts in each district, presided over by a joint district judge-level officer at the district headquarters. Section 5 provides for special magistrate courts staffed by metropolitan or first-class judicial magistrates, and section 20 for environment appeal courts at district judge level.[2] Coverage is thin: reform advocates said in June 2025 that the country had only two environment courts.[11]

Who prosecutes, and the inspector's report

Under section 6(1) the Director General or an authorised person may file directly before the special magistrate or lodge an FIR with the police. A special magistrate may not take cognizance without an inspector's written report, unless an inspector asked to act has not done so within sixty days or the complaint is otherwise justified, in which case the court may proceed after hearing the inspector. Section 7(4) applies the same rule to compensation claims.[2] Section 12(11) lets officers lay complaints directly before a special magistrate holding a mobile court.[2]

Sentencing powers, directions and deadlines

A special magistrate may impose up to five years, a Tk 5 lakh fine, or both, and order confiscation.[2] That ceiling sits below the ten-year, Tk 10 lakh repeat band in section 15, so forum matters in a serious repeat case. Both courts may also direct the offender to stop the conduct and take corrective measures within a fixed time; breaching those directions is a separate offence of up to five years or Tk 5 lakh. Trials should finish within 180 days of framing charges, extendable by 90 days, after which the case may be transferred.[2]

Compounding and appeals under the Environment Court Act

Section 18 allows two first offences under the 1995 Act to be compounded with the Director General's approval: disobeying a section 4(2) or 4(3) direction, on complying, filing a compliance report and paying at least Tk 50,000; and a prohibited activity in an ecologically critical area, on stopping it permanently, filing an undertaking and paying at least Tk 50,000. The Director General reports to the court within five working days and the case is closed. Compounding is available at any stage, including appeal or revision.[2] No other offence is compoundable, so operating without clearance cannot be settled this way.

Appeals from environment court judgments, compensation decrees, sentences and acquittals lie to the environment appeal court within thirty days. Only listed interlocutory orders, such as injunctions, bail, charge and cognizance, are appealable. A defendant appealing a compensation decree must first deposit 25 per cent of the decretal amount.[2]

Responding to a Department of Environment notice

The statute rewards speed and documentation. When a notice, direction or damage assessment arrives, this sequence protects the business and its directors under the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act.

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Two mistakes recur: treating a section 4 notice as a negotiation rather than a statutory direction with a deadline, and letting the thirty-day appeal window run while correspondence continues.

What to watch for the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act

The 2025 reform agenda, including direct citizen access to environment courts and administrative penalties, now rests with the elected Parliament.[11] The Haor and Wetlands Conservation Act 2026 adds a second wetlands regulator alongside section 6E.[12] And the 2025 Sundarbans notification shows section 5 being used to block new industry near protected areas.[8]

In practice the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act is enforced through a few high-impact provisions: sections 4, 4A, 7, 12, 15 and 16. TRW's industrial and manufacturing facilities practice advises on clearance and enforcement, and our constitutional and writ litigation team handles challenges to Department orders. To discuss a notice, contact TRW.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act 1995?

Act No. 1 of 1995, the main environmental statute. It establishes the Department of Environment, gives its Director General powers of direction, closure, inspection and sampling, provides for ecologically critical areas and clearance, and sets offences and penalties.[1]

Has the Act been amended since 2010?

No. The official text, checked on 20 October 2026, shows no amendment after 2010, although reform has been proposed.[1] [11]

Which section allows the Department of Environment to close a factory?

Section 4(3), normally after written notice and a reasonable opportunity to comply. If the direction is ignored, section 4A(2) allows utilities to be disconnected.[1]

What is an ecologically critical area?

An area declared by gazette under section 5 because its ecosystem is in, or threatened with, a critical state. Thirteen have been declared, including the Sundarbans belt and St Martin's Island.[1] [6]

What is the penalty for operating without environmental clearance?

Two to five years' imprisonment, a fine of Tk 1 lakh to Tk 5 lakh, or both, under item 12 of section 15.[1]

What is the maximum penalty under the Act?

For repeat offences under most items, two to ten years' imprisonment, a fine of Tk 2 lakh to Tk 10 lakh, or both.[1]

Can directors be personally prosecuted?

Yes. Section 16 deems directors and managers liable unless they prove lack of knowledge or all reasonable efforts to prevent the breach. The company itself can be fined.[1]

How do I appeal a Department of Environment order?

To the appellate authority under section 14 within thirty days, extendable by up to thirty days. The decision is due within three months and is final, subject to writ jurisdiction.[1]

Can an environmental offence be settled?

Only two first offences: disobeying a section 4 direction and a prohibited activity in an ecologically critical area, each on compliance and a fine of at least Tk 50,000.[2]

Can a private citizen file a case in the environment court?

Criminal cases are filed by the Director General or an authorised person, but a court may proceed without an inspector's report if a request goes unanswered for sixty days. Affected persons may bring compensation suits under sections 15A and 17.[1] [2]