Govt to reclaim land of privatised mills: PM

The government would take steps to get back the properties of mills and factories particularly their lands which were privatised earlier to resume production afresh, but the owners failed to start their operations within the stipulated time.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said this in a views-exchange meeting with the officials of the Ministry of Textiles and Jute at Bangladesh Secretariat in Dhaka Sunday, report agencies.
Sheikh Hasina said some unscrupulous persons in guise of promoters bought those mills and factories in a very nominal price taking advantages of the privatisation. Later, they used the public properties as a tool for making money.
"They have not only appropriated their valuable machinery but also selling their land properties," she said adding those properties must be recovered and would be allocated to the persons ready for setting up of small and medium scale industries.
No state-owned mills and factories would be privatised in future, she said asking the ministry to take necessary steps to get back the landed properties of the privatised mills and factories which failed to go to operation.
The view-exchange meeting was held as part of the PM's plan to visit all ministries in phases to know about their problems and prospects of the ministries and give necessary directives to steer up the activities of the ministries. Minister for Textiles and Jute Muhammad Imaz Uddin Pramanik, MP gave introductory speech welcoming the Prime Minister to the ministry as well as highlighting the successes and future plan of the ministry as well as impending challenges on the way of progress.
State Minister Mirza Azam, secretary of the ministry Fani Bhusan Chowdhury, heads of various departments under the ministry and senior officials of the ministry and Prime Minister's Office were present.
Expressing her high hope on the very prospective textile and jute sector the Prime Minister said the sector can make highest contribution to the country's economy. "We have to take plan for exploring our jute and jute products market across the world," she said.
In this regard, the Prime Minister laid importance on necessary study for production of Muslin fabrics, a delicate handspun yarn for which Bangladesh earned fame from Europe and other parts of the world in 17th and 18th centuries.
Sheikh Hasina said her government has urged the ministry officials to work with their earnest devotion, honesty and courage for development of the sector considering its contribution to the country's economy.
Hasina said her government reopened nine textiles mills with the joint ownership of industry owners, potential investors and workers.  But this initiative could not yield positive results as the successive government did not provide necessary support to this end.
Mentioning that her government introduced loan for small and handloom industries from 1996, the Prime Minister said apart from supplying capital necessary, measures should be taken for marketing their products to ensure their socioeconomic development.
From 2009 to 2014, she said, her government managed to fulfil the basic needs of people to some extent and is now working to improve the living standard of the common people.
The Prime Minister asked the ministry officials and employees to work with utmost sincerity and honesty from their respective positions keeping the welfare of people and development of the country above everything.
Despite global economic meltdown, Hasina said her government maintained a steady GDP growth of over 6.0 per cent during the last five years and Bangladesh is now on the lists of 10 emerging economies of the world.
The Prime Minister sought cooperation of all in turning Bangladesh into a middle-income one by 2021 and a front-ranking developed one by 2041.