Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu has said those tanneries that have failed to relocate their units to a purpose-built industrial park in Savar would be closed today, as a 72-hour ultimatum to the tanners passed.
Plots allotted to the offending tanneries in Savar would also be cancelled, Amu said on Wednesday.
On Sunday, Amu issued a directive to shut down the polluting factories if they failed to relocate to the industrial park in Savar within 72 hours. He warned that plots allotted to the factories would be cancelled and legal action taken against them if they failed to pay heed to the deadline.
Read more: Amu: Relocate tanneries in 72 hrs
The tanneries that are being censured had stopped the construction of their new factories in the Leather Industrial Park in Savar on the outskirts of the capital, where all of Hazaribagh's tannery factories are slated to be relocated.
“As per Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu’s instruction, preparation to send legal notices to 28 tannery owners is under way,” Abdul Quayum, project director of Savar Leather Industrial Park, told the Dhaka Tribune Tuesday.
'Preparation to send legal notices to the tannery owners is under way'
“The minister’s ultimatum came following a progress report placed by our engineer and today [Tuesday] I visited the spot and found that some factories had stopped construction,” Quayum said.
Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA) General Secretary Md Shakawat Ullah told the Dhaka Tribune: “We had sought low-cost funding because tannery owners are facing a cash crunch, but the government did not pay heed to the demand and such an action might create indiscipline and delays in relocation."
The BTA executive committee will discuss the issue on Thursday, Shakawat said.
"Some factories are very close to finishing their construction work and will be able to go into operation within the next two to three months. But the construction of the Central Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) has not been completed," he added.
Take a look: Tannery move is in everyone’s interest
The Ministry of Industries decided to relocate tannery factories from their current location in the capital’s Hazaribagh area amid pressure from rights groups, environmental activists and buyers because of the hazardous effects on public health and the environment.
The ministry allocated plots to 155 tannery owners through the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) in the Leather Industrial Park, which has been established on 200 acres of land in Savar.