Industries minister Amir Hossain Amu yesterday asked tannery owners to shift their factories to Savar from the city’s Hazaribagh area within 72 hours. He told them that their units would be shut down if they fail to meet the deadline. The minister directed Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) authorities to issue legal notices to tannery owners by yesterday. “If any tannery owner fails to relocate his/her factory from Hazaribagh to Savar within 72 hours, his/her plot in the Savar Tannery Industrial City will be cancelled,” Amu told reporters after a meeting on "Evaluation of development projects taken in 2015-16" held at the ministry. Industries secretary Mosharrof Hossain Bhuiyan and other senior officials attended the meeting.  “All goods in those Hazaribagh factories that have stopped working after taking compensation from the government to relocate their factories to Savar will be seized,” said Amu. Legal action will be taken against those tannery owners who are dragging their feet in construction work at Savar Tannery Industrial City, the minister warned. The minister also directed the authorities concerned to complete the construction of the Central Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) within the stipulated time.  In an immediate  reaction over the minister’s comment, the tanners association said they need time until  June next year to relocate the tannery units from Hazaribagh area of the capital to Savar Tannery Estate. “It’s not possible to relocate tanneries within 72 hours, not even in 72 days,” Mazakat Harun Manik, senior vice-chairman of Bangladesh Tanners Association told The Independent.
“We, the owners, are very serious about transferring their tannery units. We have made up our mind. But it has to be ensured that the running tannery industries will be relocated without closing down any of the units,” he said.
“As the minister concerned, Amir Hossain Amu should not make such comments,” Mazakat said adding that they would sit immediately with the minister to talk elaborately in this regard. “There is no scope to linger time,” he said.
The water of a canal in the Hazaribagh area of the capital bears testimony to the severe environmental pollution caused by tanneries in the area. While a High Court deadline for removal of tanneries from Hazaribagh expired on June 30 last year, many are still operating in the area.  
Taking a tough stand against tannery owners for missing several deadlines for shifting their factories to Savar Tannery Industrial City from Hazaribagh, the country’s apex court is now likely to issue summons against those who have failed to comply with the HC order in this regard, said sources in the industries ministry. The latest deadline set by the High Court for shifting tanneries to Savar expired on June 30 last year. Earlier, on June 23, 2009, the HC had ordered all tanneries in Hazaribagh to vacate the area by February 28, 2010. The deadline was extended several times following the government’s prayers before the High Court. Several deadlines have passed since then, but tannery owners have conveniently ignored the directives. About 205 plots have already been allocated to tannery owners in Savar for relocation. On July 3, 2011, the government sought a final extension of two years for relocation of tanneries in another prayer. As usual, the commitment was not met.