ABSTRACT
Over three decades, public interest litigation before the Supreme Court of Bangladesh — combined with community mobilizing, advocacy with relevant authorities and political engagement — has provided emergency protection against forced eviction for informal settlement dwellers in a rapidly urbanizing and climate-impacted Bangladesh. The Court's observations on ensuring alternative resettlement before eviction from public land have gradually been reflected in progressive policies, with public programs on housing for low-income groups adopted in recent years. This chapter outlines three ongoing cases regarding threatened forced evictions of informal settlements in the megacity of Dhaka. It draws on court documents, organizational reports, interviews with key actors and the authors' involvement in the cases through a national rights organization, the Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust. The chapter reflects on how strategies of legal empowerment, community organizing and coalition building combine to underpin demands for adequate housing for informal settlement dwellers and, more broadly, for climate-displaced communities. In the absence of any express constitutional or legal recognition of a right to housing, it argues that judicial interventions need to be complemented by direct engagement with city authorities and political actors, ensuring the participation of affected communities, to effectively address the intersections of climate and housing justice.
