BGMEA floor space owners worried about compensation

The apex court on Sunday dismissed the BGMEA’s petition seeking review of its verdict that upheld the High Court’s demolition order last year. The High Court verdict, issued in 2010, also directed the BGMEA to return the money the owners paid to buy the floor spaces, as those transactions now stand vitiated. The court also ordered the BGMEA to pay the compensation within 12 months from the date the owners make the claim. Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune on Sunday, some of the owners said the compensation claim could turn ugly if the BGMEA did not follow the court’s order. They said it would be difficult and time-consuming if they were compelled to start a legal battle on this issue. “We are not sure about getting the compensation from the BGMEA. If the court issues a directive in this regard, it will make the process easier for us,” said MA Rahim Feroz, managing director of Dulal Brothers Ltd (DBL). The DBL, which employs 400 people, owns 60,000 square feet of floor space in the building, so relocating to somewhere else is not easy and will require time, he said. The BGMEA Complex, a 15-storey building, has floor space of around 266,000 square feet space. Nearly 125,000 square feet of that space is owned by about 40 companies. Among them are Dhaka Bank Ltd and Exim Bank Ltd. Officials of these banks said they were already looking for suitable places for their offices. “We have already started to process of moving our branch out of this building,” said Syed Mahbubur Rahman, managing director of Dhaka Bank. “We will sit with the BGMEA authorities to discuss compensation.” AKM Jahidul Islam, assistant vice-president and operation manager of Exim Bank’s Karwan Bazar branch, said they had yet to decide when they would move out of the building, or where they would go. When contacted, BGMEA Senior Vice-President Faruque Hassan said they had not yet made a decision regarding the compensation. “The board of directors will discuss this issue and make the decision following the court’s order,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.