Tannery relocation
Govt now sets Apr 30 deadline
ANISUR RAHMAN KHAN
The Government has adopted a lenient policy towards Hazaribagh tannery unit owners, who were supposed to shift their complexes to Savar Tannery City, by further extending the deadline until April 30. However, the Industries Ministry has kept in force its decision not to allow the entry of rawhides and skins for processing in Hazaribagh. According to sources in the ministry, the tanners have been trying to buy time by coming up with different excuses over the last one decade when the decision was taken to shift the tanneries in 2003 to save the dying Buriganga from untreated wastes from the tanning units in Hazaribagh. Since then, the Government has given them money and other incentives to relocate their factories from Hazaribagh to Savar tannery city. But, most of the tannery owners are yet to submit their documents, like layout plan, drawing and tax papers, to the authority concerned for getting gas connections, said a official.
The ministry has extended the deadline further to shift the factories smoothly. We hope, the tannery owners will move their factories to Savar Tannery Village within the stipulated period, Abdul Qaiyum, Project Director of the Savar Tannery Industrial City, told The Independent yesterday.
The Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) has already installed two units of Central Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) partially and the remaining work will be completed within a short period of time, he said in reply to a query.
The owners allegation that the CETP is not complete is not true. All utility lines, like sewage and water, have already been completed. Its only a ploy to delay the shifting, Qaiyum said.
The authority concerned would not give gas connection to tanners until they fulfil the criteria of the gas authorities, the Project Director of Savar tannery city said. We are continuously telling the tanners to submit their demand of gas. But they are yet to give us any specific data on the volume of gas that would be needed per day. Its a major decision, which would be placed before the ECNEC meeting for approval, Qaiyum said responding to another query.
Leaders of the Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA) told The Independent that at least 40-50 factories will be able to start functioning at Savar by April 30. Its a big industrial sector. Machineries are being set up at Savar at a good pace. We hope that around 50 factory owners will be able to start operation within the stipulated time, Md Shakhawat Ullah, General Secretary of BTA, told this Correspondent. The remaining factories will need another two months to complete their construction works, he added.
As far as I know, at least 80 owners have applied for gas connections, but they are yet to get the connections. Besides, demand notes are issued against 50 factory owners for electricity. About one and a half months will be needed for setting up sub-stations, the BTA leader said in reply to a query and added that some works are still incomplete at Savar tannery city from the government side. The government has assured us it will complete the remaining works very soon, Shakhawat Ullah said.
On January 10, Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu had asked tannery owners to shift their units within 72 hours and directed the authorities to serve legal notices. About 205 plots at Savar have been allocated to tannery owners so far.
