Staff Reporter :
The Appellate Division of Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed a High Court (HC) order that directed the 154 tannery owners to pay Tk 50,000 per day as compensation for damaging environment till July 17.
Chamber judge of the Appellate Division Justice Hasan Foez Siddique passed the order upon a petition filed by the Tannery Owners’ Association and Finished Leather Export Association.
The court also sent the petition to the full bench of the Appellate Division for hearing.
Earler, on Monday Tannery Owners’ Association filed the leave to appeal against the High Court order.
The HC in its order on June 16 directed the Tannery owners to deposit the money in the Exchequer from the date of receiving the copy of the HC order until relocation of their factories to Savar Tannery Industrial Estate.
The court also ordered the Environment Secretary to assess damage of the Buriganga River environment caused by the tannery industry and submit a report by July 17.
The HC order came upon a petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB), an organization working to save environment.
Barrister Fazle Noor Taposh moved for the Tannery Owners’ Association while Advocate Manzil Murshid stood for the petitioner.
The government on April 1, suspended rawhide supply to Hazaribagh, as the tanners failed to meet the March 31 deadline.
The government then extended the deadline to April 10 upon a request made by the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC), the implementing agency of the leather estate project.
The Industry Ministry on June 17 submitted a report of 154 tanneries violating the HC order to be shifted to the designated site at Savar.
