Despite repeatedly missing deadlines, the relocation of industrial units of tanneries from Hazaribagh to Savar Tannery estate remains uncertain as the construction of most tanneries at Savar, in the outskirts of the capital, is yet to be completed. Moreover, construction of the Central Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) is unfinished, making the process more difficult, said tannery owners. Tannery owners said they cannot run their business as the government has deployed police to stop rawhide supplies from entering Hazaribagh’s tanners. This was done since traders failed to relocate their factories to the newly-built Savar Industrial Park within the stipulated deadline, which ended on March 31. During a visit yesterday to the leather industry at Hemayetpur in Savar, this correspondent found most tanneries were still under construction. Construction on a few tanneries has been completed from 60% to 70%. Their owners said they still need over three months to finish the work on the tanneries. Construction has been completed on only a few factories. Their owners said they only have electricity connection, and need gas as well as water supply connections to start production. Apart from this, construction work on many tanneries is yet to start. The government decided to transfer the tanneries from the capital’s Hazaribagh area to Savar amid pressure from environmental activists. The decision was taken because the tanneries are harming public health and the environment, as their owners would dump untreated toxic waste into the Buriganga River and in surrounding areas. To faciliate the relocation, the government allocated plots to 155 tannery owners at the industrial park set up on a 200-acre land. Many tannery owners said the government has yet to provide them with the legal papers of those plots. Thus, the traders cannot get loans from banks as well as begin construction of their factories. Shah Emran Patowary, owner of the under-construction Messers Lien Enterprise, told the Dhaka Tribune that most factories had not yet gotten gas and water connections. Only a few received electricity connections. “To start production at the factories, we need gas, electricity and water connections. We cannot even do business at both locations – Savar and Hazaribagh. Here [Hemayetpur] we are not receiving utility facilities, and there, the government has stopped the inflow of rawhide by deploying police. “If this situation continues, we will face huge losses in the coming days,” he said. He added that if they relocate tanneries from Hazaribagh to Savar, they have to face transportation problems as there is no wide road in Hemayetpur on which to transport their products. He also alleged that work on constructing the CETP had been stopped for the last one month and the expensive equipment of the CETP was kept under the open sky. Engineer Ekramul Sheikh told the Dhaka Tribune that most of work on the treatment plant had been completed. The recent work stoppage on the plant was due to a fund crisis. He said they had already informed the higher authorities about the fund crunch. Seeking anonymity, employees involved in the treatment plant construction told the Dhaka Tribune that they needed two to three months more to end the work. Project Director Abdul Kaium told the Dhaka Tribune that tannery owners who had applied for electricity and water supply connections had gotten them. He, however, said they needed more time to provide gas connections. Being irritated by the relocation delay, Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu gave a 72-hour ultimatum on January 10 to relocate the factories. Later, the government has extended the deadline till March 31. On October 8, 2007, the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) had extended the time-frame and approved a Revised Development Project Proposal (RDPP). In the RDPP, it was proposed that the project would be completed at a cost of Tk545.36 crore by 2012.
