Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) is going to file a review petition with the Supreme Court (SC) against the SC verdict in a day or two. The SC ordered demolition of the BGMEA building in the city’s Begunbari-Hatirjheel canal in 90 days, saying that it was built illegally. Talking to the Daily Observer on Saturday, the apparel makers’ trade body top leaders expressed their desire for a review petition. They think they have still options to go for such review.” If SC will stand by the same verdict on the matter, ultimately we have no option but to find another place to make the structure of the same organisation for the betterment of country’s garment sector” said Mohammad Nasir, BGMEA’s First Vice-president, fearing that any ultimate demolition of the BGMEA building would hamper severely the growth of the ready-made garment (RMG) sector. Also, a negative image crisis will be created at buyers’ end following any demolition of BGMEA building, he further said. The business leader, however, urged the government to take a rational decision regarding the matter for the sake of the country’s garment sector. “We have fully trust on the present government under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and we hope she will definitely provide a better solution for further flourishing the sector”. Nasir hinted at reaching a final decision on the review petition in the June 10 the meeting of BGMEA executive members and said the media would be briefed the following day. As the manufacturing sector has been able to make a positive image among foreign buyers after the tragic incidents of Rana Plaza and Tajreen Fashion, stakeholders started getting new orders for the next season, but this time the SC decision is a blow to the sector, another leader pointed out. BGMEA’s Senior Vice President Faruk Hasan also said some 618 garment factories have already been shut down in the last three years and over 319 factories almost stopped their operation for multifarious reasons.” If the SC’s verdict forces us to demolish the BGMEA building, economic losses of the country will be unbearable,” Hasan said. The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a 2011 High Court verdict that ordered demolition of the 15-storey BGMEA building built illegally in the heart of Begunbari canal in the capital. The HC in April 2011 ordered demolition of the building within three months, saying it was built on a land acquired through forgery. Later, the SC stayed the HC order following a petition filed by the BGMEA.A four-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha passed the order after dismissing a leave to appeal petition filed by BGMEA. The building has been in the way of the storm drainage system — one of the Hatirjheel integrated scheme’s prime objectives — to drain storm water out of Paribagh, Karwan Bazar and Eskaton, according to relevant technical experts.Dhaka’s master plan earmarks the Begunbari canal as a natural water body and a designated flood flow zone, prohibiting any change to its character. The much-hyped Hatirjheel-Begunbari integrated development scheme was opened in January 2013 with the illegal building standing boldly right in the middle of the Begunbari canal. The HC in 2011 said the records submitted by the office of Deputy Commissioner of Dhaka proved that the land was acquired for the then East Bengal Railway in 1910 and it was in the possession of the Bangladesh Railway until 2006. The railway authorities handed over the land to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) in 2006. Surprisingly, it was found in the documents submitted by the BGMEA that it purchased the land from the EPB in 2001. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during her first tenure laid the foundation stone of the BGMEA building in November 1998, while former premier Khaleda Zia inaugurated it in October 2006. Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha or RAJUK issued land use clearance. The BGMEA building also obtained clearances from the Department of Environment and the Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority. The Civil Aviation Authorities of Bangladesh also issued the height clearance. A RAJUK official told the Daily Observer on the condition of anonymity that the BGMEA authorities needed to obtain building approval from RAJUK which they did not. RAJUK only served one notice on the BGMEA authorities in more than a decade of the building’s existence, he said, adding that a report was published in a national daily on October 2 in 2010 focusing on construction of the building without any RAJUK permission.” If the SC verdict stands after a review petition, the RAJUK is ready to break down the BGMEA building for the beautification of the city,” said the official.BGMEA is a recognized trade body that represents export-oriented RMG makers and exporters. Starting in the late 1970s as a negligible non-traditional sector with a narrow export-base, the RMG industry emerged as a promising foreign exchange earner by the year 1983.Since then, this sector has been acclaimed as the thrust sector of Bangladesh economy. BGMEA had only 12 members at the time of its inception in 1977. At present, this organisation is run by a 27-member board of directors elected for tenure of one year. The board is headed by a president who is assisted by four vice presidents and a qualified team of officials. In 1985, BGMEA set up its regional office in Chittagong, a strategically important commercial port and the gateway for all RMG exports.
