Who Is Responsible for Cleaning Up Our Cities? 

Bangladesh is urbanising at an extraordinary pace, but its cities are paying a heavy environmental price. Dhaka, Chattogram, Narayanganj, Gazipur and other rapidly expanding urban centres are struggling with polluted air, contaminated rivers and canals, unmanaged waste, traffic emissions, construction dust, disappearing wetlands and shrinking green spaces. Cities that should be engines of economic growth are increasingly becoming unhealthy and environmentally degraded places to live and work. This is no longer simply an environmental problem. It is a public health, economic, governance and quality of life crisis.

The scale of air pollution alone is alarming. According to the World Bank, air pollution in Bangladesh caused more than 159,000 premature deaths and 2.5 billion days lived with illness in 2019. The estimated health cost was equivalent to 8.3 per cent of GDP. Dhaka’s annual average PM2.5 concentration has been measured at around 18 times the World Health Organization guideline. These figures reveal the enormous economic cost of pollution. Sick workers lose productive days, children face consequences for their health and education, families spend more on healthcare and businesses suffer from lower productivity. The government also bears greater costs in dealing with pollution related health problems. 

Bangladesh does not lack environmental laws, policies or plans. The greater challenge is the persistent gap between policy and implementation. Closing this gap must be a central priority of urban governance.

Water pollution presents another urban emergency. The World Bank reported in February 2026 that only about 20 per cent of Dhaka residents have connections to a piped sewer system, while only around 2 per cent have access to functional fecal sludge management. More than 80 per cent of untreated wastewater and sewage is discharged into Dhaka’s interconnected waterways, while more than half of the city’s canals have disappeared or become clogged. These are not merely statistics. They describe a city where rivers and canals that should provide drainage, ecological protection and public amenities are increasingly being turned into dumping grounds.

Solid waste is another growing challenge. Rapid population growth and rising consumption are generating increasing quantities of municipal waste, while collection, recycling, treatment and safe disposal systems remain inadequate in many urban areas. When waste is dumped into drains, canals and open spaces, it contributes to waterlogging, pollution and disease.

The government cannot claim that there are no plans to address these problems. Bangladesh adopted the National Air Quality Management Plan 2024 to 2030, which provides a framework for reducing air pollution and assigns responsibilities across relevant institutions. 

The real test, however, is implementation. The Department of Environment plays a central role in monitoring pollution, issuing environmental clearances, enforcing standards and acting against violations. Yet environmental protection cannot be achieved by one agency alone. The Local Government Division, city corporations, Dhaka WASA, transport authorities, Roads and Highways Department, RAJUK, industrial and energy agencies, and the health sector all have key responsibilities.

The problem is that these responsibilities are interconnected, while governance remains fragmented. A road may be built without adequate drainage, a canal filled despite its role in flood management, or a factory approved without considering cumulative pollution. Construction may continue without effective dust control, while collected waste is dumped in ways that merely shift pollution elsewhere. Bangladesh therefore needs to move from agency-based responsibility to integrated urban environmental governance.

Government plans will not succeed unless citizens actively participate in planning, implementation and monitoring. Residents should have meaningful opportunities to identify pollution sources, comment on urban plans, monitor local services and report violations through transparent digital platforms. Every major city should provide accessible information on air and water quality, waste collection, drainage conditions and pollution complaints. Residents should also be able to report illegal dumping, blocked drains, open waste burning, construction dust and industrial pollution, with authorities required to respond within a defined period. Universities, professional bodies, journalists and civil society organisations should be able to scrutinise government performance independently. Complaints should not simply disappear into administrative files.

Digitalisation can help. Bangladesh’s environmental clearance system and expanding digital monitoring initiatives offer opportunities for greater transparency and efficiency. But technology will have limited value unless citizens can see whether environmental conditions attached to approvals are actually being followed.

There are also encouraging signs of increased investment. In 2025, the World Bank approved financing to strengthen Bangladesh’s air quality monitoring and vehicle emissions control, including plans for 400 zero emission electric buses.

In February 2026, the World Bank approved another US$370 million programme for Greater Dhaka to improve sanitation, solid waste management, water pollution and river and canal restoration, while strengthening institutional capacity and results-based service delivery. These investments could make a significant difference, but money alone will not clean Bangladesh’s cities. Enforcement, coordination, transparency and public participation will determine their success.

The government should set measurable environmental targets for every major city and publish annual performance reports showing changes in air pollution, waste treatment, canal restoration, wastewater treatment, pollution complaints and protection of green and open spaces. Citizens should also have a meaningful role in setting these targets, monitoring progress and evaluating results.

Bangladesh does not lack environmental laws, policies or plans. The greater challenge is the persistent gap between policy and implementation. Closing this gap must be a central priority of urban governance. 

The burden of pollution is also uneven. Poorer communities often live near polluted waterways, waste sites, congested roads and industrial areas, with fewer resources to protect themselves and less influence over decisions affecting their neighbourhoods. If Bangladesh wants healthy, productive and liveable cities, environmental protection must become central to urban development. The government must measure pollution, enforce laws, strengthen institutions and coordinate agencies, while citizens should have a meaningful role in planning, implementation and monitoring.

The future of Bangladesh’s cities should be measured not only by the roads, buildings, bridges and economic zones we build, but also by the quality of air and water, the rivers and canals we preserve, the waste we safely manage and the green spaces we protect. A city that achieves economic growth by destroying its environment is not truly developing; it is passing today’s costs on to tomorrow’s citizens.

Bangladesh’s urban future depends on whether we can close that gap. The question is no longer who is responsible for cleaning up our cities. The responsibility belongs to all institutions, but the government must lead, coordinate and ensure accountability. The time has come to turn environmental plans into measurable action.