HC orders 154 tanneries to pay Taka 30.85 crore fine in 2 weeks
The High Court (HC) today ordered 154 tanneries located in capital`s Hazaribagh area to deposit in two weeks Taka 30.85 crore to state exchequer as fine for damaging environment.
A High Court division bench comprising Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam and Justice Ashish Ranjan Das passed the order acting on a writ petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB).
“The court has ordered them to deposit the money within two weeks. If they fail to do so, we will plea for shutting down those tanneries and arrest the owners,” said HRPB counsel Manzil Morshed.
Industries Secretary Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan on February 13 had appeared before the court and said the accumulated outstanding fine of the 154 tanneries operating in Hazaribagh was Taka 30.85 crore.
Earlier on July 18, 2016, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court ordered the owners of those tanneries to pay Taka 10,000 each to state exchequer per day until they relocate their factories to Savar.
The Appellate Division had passed the order following an appeal filed by the tannery owners against the High Court order that had asked each of them to pay Taka 50,000 daily to compensate the damage they are doing to environment.
According to the report submitted by the industries secretary, 150 tanneries have deposited Taka 10,000 each in August, 2016. Only four companies paid their fines in September while three in October.
The High Court in 2001 ordered the tannery owners to relocate their factories from Hazaribagh. The court in 2009, again ordered the relocation of the tanneries by February 24, 2010. Later, the timeframe was extended up to April 30, 2011.
But as the latest order too was not complied with, HRPB filed a contempt of court case on April 15, 2014.
On April 13, 2016, the court sought a list of tanners still doing businesses in Hazaribagh, from the Industries Secretary. Following the order, the secretary submitted a list of 155 tanners, of which only one has relocated from the area.
