Staff Reporter :The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court (SC) on Monday commuted the compensation of the 154 tanneries at Hazaribagh to pay Tk 10, 000 per day as fine to the Government Exchequer until the relocation of their factories at Tannery Estate located in Savar within the stipulated time. The court also ordered to donate fifty percent of the fined money to the National Liver Foundation of Bangladesh. A four-member bench headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha passed the order upon a petition filed by the Tannery Owners Association and Bangladesh Leather, Leather Goods and Footwear Exporters’ Association. The High Court on June 16, ordered the 154 tannery owners to pay the fine of Tk 50,000 each per day to the government as they were yet to be shifted their factories to the designated site in Savar and causing environmental hazard in the River Buriganga. The Supreme Court stayed the order till July 17 upon an appeal by the trade bodies. The HC order came after the Industry Secretary submitted a list of 155 tanneries still operating at Hazaribagh. The Industries Secretary report suggest that, of the 155 units at Hazaribagh, only Reliance Tannery has moved to Savar and rest of the 154 started the process.Following the report, the HC said each of the 154 tannery owners to pay Tk 50, 000 as fine everyday until their relocation at Savar. The government on April 1, suspended rawhide supply to Hazaribagh tanneries as the tanners failed to meet the March 31 deadline. The government then extended the time till April 10 following a report by the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC), the implementing agency of the tannery estate project in Savar. Petitioner’s lawyer Manzil Murshid said the apex court’s verdict is a big progress towards the relocation of the hazardous industry to Savar to ensure the environment of the River Buriganga.
