Tannery relocation

Before taking any decision of a serious nature it would be wise, on the part of the government, to sit all the stakeholders so that a rational timeframe can finally be fixed

Yet again government efforts to relocate tanneries from Hazaribagh to Savar have failed to produce results. According to the plan, the government was supposed to take legal action including cancellation of allocation of plots at Savar if tannery owners failed to comply with the government order within 72 hours. But none of the 28 owners who were served legal notice could shift their tanneries within the stipulated timeframe. As a report published in this newspaper yesterday indicates the government may again extend the timeframe.
However, backtracking from its order does not put the government in a favourable position. First of all, why did it serve legal notice when it was not possible for the owners to relocate their tanneries? If it indeed served a strong legal notice, why the government is not taking any action against the owners?
The general secretary of Bangladesh Tanners’ Association said that tannery owners still need three to four months to shift their tanneries. The way they are dilly-dallying in their efforts to go to Savar over the years does not give an impression that they are too keen to relocate
at all.
That is why the government has to take a tough position, because it is obligatory to save the Buriganga water from the poisonous effluent released from these tanneries. In fact, it is the tanneries which have a major role in the slow death of the rivers and canals in the western part of Dhaka. Against the backdrop of this murky development, the authorities have set up the new and well-equipped tannery village in Savar. The Savar tannery estate project was taken up more than 10 years back to relocate around 200 tannery units from Hazaribagh.
We do admit that plot cancellation of tanners may not be a pragmatic decision, if it is really difficult for them to relocate tanneries now. A central effluent treatment plant for use of tanners is yet to be completed at Savar yet.
We believe that the government must mean business and the environment is too important a thing to take lightly. However, before taking any decision of a serious nature it would be wise, on the part of the government, to sit with the tanners and other stakeholders so that a rational timeframe can finally be fixed agreed by all. In that meeting the government should hear patiently what are the tanners’ problems to relocate and if necessary extend assistance in their efforts to relocate. But once a decision on the timeframe is arrived, tanners have to follow it and must accept all the possible consequences in case of failure.

 

Tannery relocation

Before taking any decision of a serious nature it would be wise, on the part of the government, to sit all the stakeholders so that a rational timeframe can finally be fixed

Yet again government efforts to relocate tanneries from Hazaribagh to Savar have failed to produce results. According to the plan, the government was supposed to take legal action including cancellation of allocation of plots at Savar if tannery owners failed to comply with the government order within 72 hours. But none of the 28 owners who were served legal notice could shift their tanneries within the stipulated timeframe. As a report published in this newspaper yesterday indicates the government may again extend the timeframe. However, backtracking from its order does not put the government in a favourable position. First of all, why did it serve legal notice when it was not possible for the owners to relocate their tanneries? If it indeed served a strong legal notice, why the government is not taking any action against the owners? The general secretary of Bangladesh Tanners Association said that tannery owners still need three to four months to shift their tanneries. The way they are dilly-dallying in their efforts to go to Savar over the years does not give an impression that they are too keen to relocate at all. That is why the government has to take a tough position, because it is obligatory to save the Buriganga water from the poisonous effluent released from these tanneries. In fact, it is the tanneries which have a major role in the slow death of the rivers and canals in the western part of Dhaka. Against the backdrop of this murky development, the authorities have set up the new and well-equipped tannery village in Savar. The Savar tannery estate project was taken up more than 10 years back to relocate around 200 tannery units from Hazaribagh. We do admit that plot cancellation of tanners may not be a pragmatic decision, if it is really difficult for them to relocate tanneries now. A central effluent treatment plant for use of tanners is yet to be completed at Savar yet. We believe that the government must mean business and the environment is too important a thing to take lightly. However, before taking any decision of a serious nature it would be wise, on the part of the government, to sit with the tanners and other stakeholders so that a rational timeframe can finally be fixed agreed by all. In that meeting the government should hear patiently what are the tanners problems to relocate and if necessary extend assistance in their efforts to relocate. But once a decision on the timeframe is arrived, tanners have to follow it and must accept all the possible consequences in case of failure.