Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan speaking in a conference on Water Reuse and Recycle: Launching on National Alliance at hotel Pan Pacific Sonargaon in the capital. Photo: PID . Pho

DHAKA, May 21, 2025 (BSS) - Environment, Forest and Climate Change Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan today said the government is finalizing the policies to stop industries from extracting ground water without any charge.
 
"Polices to prevent charge-free ground water extraction are being finalized and according to the newly formulated policy, industries won't be able to extract ground-water without any charge," he told a conference as the chief guest.

The conference was jointly organized by World Bank's 2030 water resource group, Water resource planning organization (WRPO) and water resource ministry at a city hotel.

About 350 representatives from World Bank, ministries, concerned organizations, universities, private sectors, textile and lather factories, fashion brands and waste water recycling technology exporter companies took part in the conference.

The adviser said, "The corporate sector has long been considering the ground water as free resources but it can't go on like this anymore.

Water is not infinite resource and in such a time of climate change extracting ground without charges cannot keep going."
 
She said that water resources ministry has already formulated a draft in this regard and the ministry will soon initiate online monitoring system to control ground-water extraction.
 
She said a working group has been formed to discuss more environment friendly uses of water resources. "The group will work with the owners of garments, textile and other private associations to control uses of water, pollution and increase the recycling of water," she added.
 
Urging for sustainable development, she said Dhaka has been surrounded by seven rivers but its dwellers lack enough drinking water. In one hand, People are suffering from lacking of safe and clean water, on the other hand, some other people polluting water bodies by occupying rivers and discharging industrial wastes directly in the water bodies.

"A factory might be creating jobs for 2,000 labors, but at the same time the same factory is destroying the livelihood of more thousands by polluting rivers. Such actions should not be justified as development," she said, adding that the main aim of this conference is to form a group for national alliance for reuse and recycle with collective participation and efforts of stakeholders from various sectors.

Cabinet Secretary Dr. Sheikh Abdur Rashid presided over the conference and Water Resources Secretary Nazmul Ahsan gave the welcome speech.
Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) Chemical Engineering professor Mohidus Samad khan presented the keynote paper at the conference.

World Bank Interim Country Director Gayle Martin, FBCCI administrator Md. Hafizur Rahman, BGMEA administrator Md. Anwar Hossain, FICCI director Ala Uddin Ahmed and World Bank 2030 WRG representative Michael John Webster spoke as the special guests, among others.