No case was filed under the environmental laws in the last six years in the environmental court, said speakers in the First International Conference on Environmental Law organised by Poribesh Bachao Andolon in the city on Saturday.

The theme of the conference was "The Concept of Environmental Court in The Contemporary World: Application in Bangladesh."

The speakers said it is possible to ensure overall development in the country's environment by activating the environment court and the Department of Environment.

They identified different flaws in the environmental laws and made several recommendations that include updating the laws enabling the citizens to file cases directly against those who violate the laws, setting up environmental court in every district and speedy tribunal for environment related cases.

The speakers also said that if the cases are not disposed of within 270 days then proper actions should be taken to find the solution.

They also demanded implementation of the Environmental Law 2000 and formation of an expert committee under the environmental court.

Abu Naser Mohammad Wahid, associate professor at the Department of Law and Justice, University of Rajshahi, in his paper titled "The Concept of Environmental Court in the Temporary World: Application In Bangladesh" said environmental laws are still confined into papers in Bangladesh.

He mentioned the lack of integration among several departments of the government while dealing with environmental issues.

He cited an example of how shrimp cultivation is monitored by two departments. The Department of Fisheries encourages people to cultivate more shrimp whereas the Department of Environment considers shrimp cultivation totally in a negative way as the process of shrimp cultivation has adverse effect on environment.

In the paper titled "Functioning of The Environment Court In Chittagong: A Critical Appraisal," Dr Abdullah Al Faruque, assistant professor, Department of Laws, University of Chittagong, said the environment court does not have any power of its own. It does not have any inspector and monitoring cell as well. He also mentioned different flaws of the environmental laws.

Dr Enamul Haque, member, Law Commission, said at present no environmental law is effective in Bangladesh.

Professor Jashimuddin, former vice-chancellor of Jahangirnagar University, said proper enforcement of environmental laws could not be possible due to the indifference of concerned departments.

Mohammad Abdus Samad, director (administration and development), of the Department of Environment, said the budget that the department gets every year is not enough. Moreover, it has shortage of manpower.

Former vice chancellor of Dhaka University Prof Maniruzzaman Miah said in most cases laws are drafted in such a language that the common people cannot understand the meaning and decide what to do.