No more compensation will be provided to tannery owners for relocating their factories from Hazaribagh area in the capital to Tannery Industrial Estate in Savar, said a parliamentary watchdog chief. “The government has provided many facilities and opportunities to tannery owners. They should relocate factories as soon as possible now to save people from pollution,” said Dr Md Abdur Razzaque, chairman of parliamentary standing committee on finance ministry. He made the statement during his visit to the tannery industrial estate in Savar yesterday. Two committee members – Hazi Rahim Ullah and Abul Kalam Azad accompanied him. Dr Razzaque said the tannery owners were given Tk250 crore as compensation, land, gas, electricity and other necessary facilities including roads. He urged the tannery owners to shift their factories to Savar for the sake of people and environment. But the tannery owners said they won’t be able to relocate within March deadline. “The government gave us Tk250 crore in response to our Tk1,000 crore demand as compensation. But this is not sufficient,” said Shahin Ahmed, president of Bangladesh Tannery Owners’ Association. He said most of the owners had no enough fund to relocate factories in a short time. Tannery owner Engr Abu Taher urged the government to provide low-interest loans for relocation works. Dr Razzaque admitted the necessity of low-interest loans for the owners. “We will definitely propose to provide loans at below 10% interest to owners. Otherwise, it will be tough for our tannery industry to keep pace with $220m world market,” he said. Sirazul Haider, project director of the tannery industrial estate, said they had already provided 202 plots to 155 industrialists to set up industries. Moreover, 152 industry layouts have already been approved while some three industries still do not submit their layout plan, he said. “We have already constructed boundary, police camp, gas and electricity line. 50% works of CETP have been completed.” Sirazul Haider hoped the works of central effluent treatment plant (CETP) on 17.50 acres of land will be completed by June this year. He sought cooperation of tannery owners in relocation of factories. Amid growing environmental concerns, the government took the Tannery Estate project in 2003 for implementing it by 2005. But Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) could not yet fully implement it though over a decade has elapsed. Earlier, 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. More than 200 factories in Hazaribagh release several thousand litres of untreated and highly toxic liquid waste into the Buriganga River, posing a serious threat to public health. Department of Environment reported some 22,000 cubic meters of raw and liquid waste from tannery units in Hazaribagh flow into Buriganga, where the oxygen level is zero instead of minimum six required for aquatic species.
