Draft of the proposed law has already been prepared and is expected to be sent to the cabinet next month. The proposed law has stressed on the recovery of the rivers and waterbodies as many have been encroached and thus blocking the free flow of flood water.

"Due to lack of proper conservation of river channels and waterbodies, localities especially in Dhaka go under flood water. If we had preserved the natural waterbodies, rivers and canals, flood would not have hit major areas," said a senior official in the water resources ministry.

Environmentalists have observed that unplanned urbanisation of Dhaka has placed the flood-prone capital on the edge of an ecological disaster as most of the flood flow zones and waterbodies have been filled up over the years.

"The Wetland Protection Act 2000 ensures to preservation of the rivers and waterbodies. But it is inadequate for recovering the already encroached rivers and canals. The new law will ensure that," an official of the water resources ministry said.

Under the proposed law, rivers, canals and wetland, which have been marked in survey records and exist in other government approved documents, will be recovered if they have been encroached.

Environment experts say that the already filled up natural rivers, hundred of canals and other waterbodies could consume huge volumes of flood water and protect many areas from flooding. Moreover, Dhaka's 44 natural canals, 26 water reservoirs, hundreds of small and large ponds, marshy land can naturally keep the overflowed water while the canals distribute it through different channels.

"If we could save the water bodies, canals and ponds, it could consume a certain volume of floodwater and many areas would not be flooded," said Md Salim Bhuiyan, executive engineer of Flood Forecasting Centre of Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB).

The proposed law has also mentioned that residential construction can not be allowed within 50 yards of a river and the District Commissioner (DC) will submit reports twice a year after inspecting the areas on the riverbanks. Already constructed structures on the bank will be demolished.

"District Commissioners are the responsible authority to recover the rivers and wetland from illegal encroachers and the law will empower them to take action against the encroachers," said a water resources ministry official.

Water resources minister Hafiz Uddin Ahmed meanwhile said that the Prime Minister has showed her personal interest in recovery of the rivers and canals from illegal encroachment.

"After formulating the law, it will be our first priority to recover the filled up waterbodies as they were our gift from nature for saving the country from environmental disasters including flood," the minister said.