A move is underway to impose US$ 1,00,000 daily fine on JLEPCL-DCL-JV, a Chinese company responsible for building and operating central effluent treatment plant (CETP) at the newly-established Savar Tannery Estate, for releasing untreated tannery wastes to the river Dhaleshwari.
The Tannery Estate Authority proposed imposition of the penalty at a meeting at the Industries Ministry on JLEPCL-DCL-JV for breaching terms and polluting the river water.
"We proposed US $1,00,000 per day as fine to the Chinese company as it breached the term and will form a committee to monitor its activities in future," Abdul Qaiyum, project director (PD) of the tannery estate, told the FE Monday.
The proposed five-member committee will comprise representatives from the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC), the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), the Department of Environment and one each from two leading associations from the sector.
"This committee will monitor activities of JLEPCL-DCL-JV," Qaiyum said.
The consultation committee of the BUET on tannery estate has already proposed to deduct 10 per cent of the company's performance guarantee money as fine for breaching the condition and polluting the river.
According to the Tannery Estate Authority, the Chinese company had not been running its generator for producing electricity until December 31, 2016.
JLEPCL-DCL-JV was supposed to treat tannery wastes for 24 hours but the authority found that it only operated a fuel-run generator for 8 to 12 hours per day for saving cost.
The authorities have been conducting its test run since November last year, using generators.
"Now we don't have electricity problem as the tannery estate has begun producing its own electricity," the PD said.
The Department of Environment found 11 toxic components in the Dhaleshwari river water on December 29.
However, Abdul Qaiyum said, "The department never gave us that report."
He said land allotment to tanneries that will not be shifted from the city's Hazaribag to Savar by March 31 this year, will be cancelled.
"There are many tanneries which have been seeking lands at Savar tannery estate. We will cancel allotment of failed ones and re-allot the plots to new ones," the PD said.
He said of 154 tanneries, some 41 tanneries started production at Savar Tannery Estate until Monday. Seven more will start operating next week.
On January 01, 2017, the government gave Hazaribagh tanners three more months to relocate their factories to Savar Tannery Industrial Estate, as the tanners again missed the deadline-December 31-- for doing so.
The industries ministry said no raw hides would be allowed to enter Hazaribagh after January 31.
The decisions came as neither the government nor the tanners finished their respective construction work at the tannery estate.
Earlier, the ministry had set several deadlines for shifting the factories to Savar from Hazaribagh but the tanners missed all those.
Visiting the Savar tannery estate on Monday, this correspondent found that construction of the CETP is yet to be completed.
The installation of pipes connecting one tank of the CETP with another awaits completion. Workers hired by the contractors for the plant were seen working in full swing to complete the remaining part of the CETP.
Abdul Qaiyum claimed they started to run two modules of CETP. Two modules need around 10,000 cubic feet of wastes to make the CETP functional.
"But we are getting around 2,000 cubic feet. We need 40 more industrial units to generate wastes for making our CETP fully functional," he said.
The Chinese joint venture company-JLEPCL-DCL-JV-was awarded the job in October, 2012 to complete the CETP construction by 18 months.
But it could not complete its work as per the deadline.
bdsmile@gmail.com
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