The government has served legal notice to 113 tanners that stopped construction of their new infrastructures as part of relocation of their factories from Hazaribagh to Leather Industrial Park in Savar on the outskirts of the capital.
Meanwhile, the standing committee on the Industry Ministry will discuss the tannery relocation issue in its regular meeting.
In the legal notice, the government asked tanners to relocate their factories within 72 hours after receiving the notice, said MD Shahidul Islam, an advocate of the Supreme Court, who signed the notice.
“You (tanners) are wasting time by not relocating your factories as per the government directive. The tanneries are polluting soil and river water of Dhaka,” the letter said.
“As per the Industry Minister Amir Hossain Amu’s instruction, we have sent legal notices to 113 tanners through lawyer, and gave them 72 hours to reply and start construction for relocation,” Leather Industrial Park Project Director Abdul Quayum told the Dhaka Tribune.
The response of legal notice is good as a maximum plot owners started the process of relocation, he said.
He added that the process of serving notice is closed for one week and it would be served further if the ministry issues any directive.
Earlier, Amu said the polluting factories will be shut if they fail to relocate to the industrial park in Savar within 72 hours.
He also warned that plots allotted to the factories will be cancelled and legal action taken.
The December 31 of 2015 was the deadline set by the government to relocate the tanneries.
The Ministry of Industries decided to transfer the tanneries from their current location in Hazaribagh amid pressure from the Rights Group, environmental activists and buyers because of their hazardous effects on public health and environment.
It allocated plots to 155 tannery owners through Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industry Corporation (BSCIC) at the Leather Industrial Park established on a 200-acre land in Savar.
