Shifting of tanneries from the city’s Hazaribagh to Savar seems to take more time due to slow progress in infrastructural development and installation of central effluent treatment plant (CETP). The stakeholders are yet to pay heed to the government’s repeated stern warning to shift their units that resulted in shifting of the deadline several times for relocating the factories from the heart of the city. Stakeholders, however, blamed fund crisis for the slow progress of the relocation process. It was learnt that such delay in relocation process are also hampering the country’s earning from exports of leather goods as the EU buyers are declining to place work order here considering the anti-environmental operation of Hazaribagh tannery estate. Sources informed though 142 industrial units out of 155 started establishing infrastructure one year ago, the progress in this regard is too slow to shift their unit immediately. The 142 stakeholders have completed only around 40 to 50 percent of their establishments. As a result, it may not be possible to shift the entire tannery estate from Hazaribagh to Savar immediately. The project which was taken back in 2003 to make the leather industry compliant with environmental activities cannot make any visible success even after around one decade. Stakeholders said due to fund crisis they cannot expedite the shifting process. Abu Taher, Chairman of Bangladesh Finished Leather Leathergoods and Footwear Exporters Association, while talking to daily sun said it needs around Tk 3,000 crore while the government is providing only Tk 250 crore as compensation. It is urgently necessary to shift the estate to get more work order and the stakeholders are trying their best to end the shifting process, he added. According to information, industries minister gave a deadline of March 31, 2015 to shift the units from Hazaribagh to Savar. But due to slow progress of infrastructural development, the stakeholders could not maintain the deadline. Later, the government extended the deadline to June 2015. But the stakeholders missed it again. Now the government is planning to shift the estate by September next. Sirajul Haider, Project Director, while talking to daily sun said the stakeholders are developing the infrastructure and a visible outcome will be appeared by September next. Along with the slow progress of infrastructural development, the establishment process of CETP is also found slow. The project officials though hoped to open two units out of the four units of CETP by June last, it is yet to see any progress in this regard. Abu Taher, the leather industry leader, said CETP is necessary and if it is not established, how the industry operation would be environment friendly? “Although two units of CETP could not open by June last, we are hopeful to start it by September next and activities are going on in full force,” the project director said. Mentionable, Savar Leather Industrial Park is a project of the government taken in 2003. Considering the environmental hazards of the Hazaribagh area, the then government took the project. Established on the 199 acres of land, the project is fully funded by the government at Tk 17575.00 lakh. A total of 195 plots have been set up at the project where a total of 155 factories will be relocated.
