HC issues contempt rule against 14 govt officials

The High Court (HC) issued Tuesday a contempt of court rule against 14 former and incumbent government officials for their failure to comply with its earlier order on relocating tanneries from the city's Hazaribagh area.
The HC bench comprising Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam and Justice Md Ashraful Kamal issued the rule in response to a contempt of court petition.
In its rule, the court wanted to know within two weeks as to why contempt of court proceedings should not be brought against the officials for their failure to comply with the order.
The 14 officials include among others: Mohammad Moinuddin Abdullah, Industries Secretary and Md Raisul Alam Mondal, director general of the Department of Environment (DoE).
In its earlier order on June 23, 2009, the HC directed the officials to take effective measures to relocate the tanneries from Hazaribagh to outside Dhaka city within February 28, 2010.
The deadline was later extended by one year more in two phases, lawyer concerned said.
However, the officials failed to take effective measures to comply with the HC order even after expiry of the deadline, he said.
The contempt of court rule was issued following a petition filed by a human rights body. Advocate Manzill Murshid stood for the rights body in the court.
The environment of Dhaka, specially the Buriganga River, is being seriously polluted due to the dumping of chemical wastes of the tanneries at Hazaribagh, the lawyer said.