The formal signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (Bscic) and the owners of tanneries in Hazaribagh will be held on Sunday, finalising the planned relocation of the factories to a newly built estate in Savar.
As per the agreement, the government will offer a compensation package worth Tk2.5bn to 155 factories and assign Tk6.39bn for the installation of a Central Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) – a must for red-category factories discharging toxic chemicals.
The Bscic has already completed construction of infrastructure at the 200 acre site at Harindhara, near Hemayetpur. Tk1.1bn has been spent on land development and the setting up of water treatment and power plants.
However, construction of the CETP is yet to begin as it took over three years to complete the paper work. The construction will take around 18 months to complete.
Despite High Court directives, outcries by environmentalists, distress of locals and massive destruction to the river Buriganga, the relocation scheme was halted for over a decade because of disagreements between the government and tanners over compensation and the ETP.
Around 70% of all polluted material dumped into the river comes from the tanneries.
“The government has agreed to our demand of paying the cost of setting up the CETP and also to compensation for relocating the factories,” said Abdul Hye, general secretary of Bangladesh Tanners’ Association.
He said they would relocate their factories as soon as possible.
After a public interest litigation was lodged, the High Court in June 2009 asked the government to relocate the tanneries from Dhaka to a proposed leather estate at Harindhara, Savar by February 28, 2010 or face shutdowns. The government has repeatedly sought more time.
Tannery owners were unwilling to pay for the relocation and CETP at the proposed site 15km from the capital’s Hazaribagh.
Pursuant to a 2003 agreement signed with the tannery owners, the government was supposed to pay compensation and the cost of the CETP, Abdul Hye said, adding that they were happy with the government’s decision.
The current government, deviating from its original plan, suggested that the owners should pay the cost of relocation under a 15-year loan agreement once the CETP is installed.
The factories in Hazaribagh have been in operation for over six decades, exporting around Tk55bn per annum of finished leather and leather products.
The tanners have been enjoying a high level of impunity from authorities despite flouting rules on pollution, workplace safety and public health. Not a single factory has an ETP to treat the highly-toxic water before release.
Of the Tk10.28bn allocated for the project, Tk1.39bn has been spent on infrastructure facilities, Bscic officials said. The Bscic, a body under the industries ministry, is implementing the relocation of 155 of around 200 factories.
Over 200 factories in Hazaribagh have been discharging untreated toxic waste into the Buriganga River through canals and drains, contaminating the river and other water-bodies. The serious health risks to workers and locals in the densely populated area have been reported in the local and international media.
The Department of Environment reported that some 22,000 cubic meters of raw and liquid waste flow from the units into the river, where the level of dissolved oxygen is zero. A minimum level of 6 is required for survival of aquatic species. Over 100 tonnes of solid waste, including scraps of finished leather, hides and chemical dust are also dumped into the river.
In 1991, the question of relocating the tanneries was discussed among policy makers who first suggested Kanchpur as a possible location and then Sonargaon of Narayanganj. In 1993, it was decided the industries would be shifted to Savar and 17.30 acres of land was acquired.
At an inter-ministerial meeting held on August 20, 1998, it was revealed that around 15,000 cubic metres of untreated waste was dumped into the Buriganga River.