The petitioners questioned the activities and implementation of a flood control programme undertaken in the District of Tangail. The petitioners feared environmental damage from the flood control plan which would affect the life, property, livelihood, vocation and environmental security of more than one million people. The petitioners had been authorized by a resolution of the Executive Committee of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) to represent the association. The court held that the flood control programme (FAP-20) was a development project aimed at controlling floods, which regularly brought misery to the flood-prone areas of Tangail and any interference with the project would deprive the country of the benefits of the scheme and foreign assistance. Although the court found it impractical to stop the work, the court ordered the respondents to comply with the law on drainage and resettlement of displaced persons and not to implement the scheme with impunity.