HAZARIBAGH TANNERY RELOCATION

HC rejects owners’ plea

The High Court yesterday rejected a petition filed by tannery owners seeking its order to allow them to run their factories at Hazaribagh in Dhaka until the next Eid-ul-Azha.

After hearing on the petition, the HC bench comprising Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed and Justice Md Salim passed the order after.
The High Court order cleared the way for the Department of Environment to snap utility service connections, including gas, power and water and all kinds of operations at Hazaribagh, concerned lawyers opined.
The Tannery Owners Association and Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leather Goods and Footwear Exporters Association jointly filed a petition with the HC on March 23 seeking permission to operate their factories in the city's Hazaribagh until the Eid-ul-Azha this year, claiming that the Tannery Industrial Estate in Savar and its central effluent treatment plant were not fully ready for their relocation.
The petition said that the process of providing gas connections to the industrial units in Savar was incomplete. Earlier, on March 6, in response to a petition filed by the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA), the same bench of the HC directed the director general of the Department of Environment (DoE) to immediately shut the tanneries in Hazaribagh.
The court also ordered the DoE DG to snap utility service connections, including gas, power and water, to the tanneries as they were damaging the environment violating its earlier directives.
The ministries of home, environment, industries, inspector general of police and the commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police were asked to assist the DG in complying with the order.
The HC asked the DG to submit a report after complying with its directives by April 6 and fixed April 10 for holding further hearing on the issue.
On March 12, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court upheld the HC directive and dismissed a petition filed by the chairman of Footwear Exporters Association seeking a stay on the HC order until June.
Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh argued for tanners, while Barrister Fida M Kamal and advocate Syeda Rizwana Hasan were present for BELA during yesterday’s proceedings. 
The High Court on July 15, 2001 directed the government and the tanners to relocate the tanneries by February 28, 2010.

HAZARIBAGH TANNERY RELOCATION

HC rejects owners plea

The High Court yesterday rejected a petition filed by tannery owners seeking its order to allow them to run their factories at Hazaribagh in Dhaka until the next Eid-ul-Azha. After hearing on the petition, the HC bench comprising Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed and Justice Md Salim passed the order after. The High Court order cleared the way for the Department of Environment to snap utility service connections, including gas, power and water and all kinds of operations at Hazaribagh, concerned lawyers opined. The Tannery Owners Association and Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leather Goods and Footwear Exporters Association jointly filed a petition with the HC on March 23 seeking permission to operate their factories in the citys Hazaribagh until the Eid-ul-Azha this year, claiming that the Tannery Industrial Estate in Savar and its central effluent treatment plant were not fully ready for their relocation. The petition said that the process of providing gas connections to the industrial units in Savar was incomplete. Earlier, on March 6, in response to a petition filed by the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA), the same bench of the HC directed the director general of the Department of Environment (DoE) to immediately shut the tanneries in Hazaribagh. The court also ordered the DoE DG to snap utility service connections, including gas, power and water, to the tanneries as they were damaging the environment violating its earlier directives. The ministries of home, environment, industries, inspector general of police and the commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police were asked to assist the DG in complying with the order. The HC asked the DG to submit a report after complying with its directives by April 6 and fixed April 10 for holding further hearing on the issue. On March 12, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court upheld the HC directive and dismissed a petition filed by the chairman of Footwear Exporters Association seeking a stay on the HC order until June. Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh argued for tanners, while Barrister Fida M Kamal and advocate Syeda Rizwana Hasan were present for BELA during yesterdays proceedings. The High Court on July 15, 2001 directed the government and the tanners to relocate the tanneries by February 28, 2010.