Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) vs. Bangladesh, Writ Petition No. 6072 of 2010, 8 June 2011

The petition was filed against housing projects which were being implemented without any approval from authorities. The projects entailed earth filling in the floodplains. Due to the filling in these zones which serve as the city's natural drainage system, Dhaka became water logged, flooded and marooned even with regular rain for just two consecutive days. The floods not only crippled urban life, but brought unbearable suffering for the lower income groups whose huts get washed away and the surroundings contaminated.

The court found that illegal housing projects which filled in Dhaka’s natural drainage systems had caused serious damage to the city’s environment and affected residents’ right to life. It ordered respondents to protect and restore the area and to stop illegal earth filling.