Tannery relocation to Savar needs priority attention
Sunday, 6 December 2009
Shahiduzzaman Khan
THE much-talked-about relocation of the tanneries from Hazaribagh in the capital to the proposed leather estate at Savar is still in limbo, with tannery owners blaming bureaucratic tangles for the unusual delay in the process. They are also bargaining hard with the government for compensation and other facilities. There are 149 tanneries at Hazaribagh and they pour thousands of litres of untreated and highly toxic liquid wastage into the Buriganga river everyday, posing a serious health hazards to human beings and animals.
In view of the tremendous environmental and health hazards, the government had taken up a project in 2003 to relocate the tanneries to Savar on the city's outskirts. As compensation for the relocation, tannery owners are demanding that the government should give them 7.0-8.0 per cent of the relocation costs -- Tk 54 billion -- as grants and loans. They want half of the amount as grants. The tannery owners have placed their demands with the government through a report jointly prepared by Bangladesh Finished Leather and Leather Goods Exporters' Association, Bangladesh Tanners Association, and Leather Goods and Footwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association of Bangladesh.
The demands also include making the 'leather estate' a special economic zone with all the facilities enjoyed by the export processing zones (EPZs), provision for easy exit of the 'weak' tanneries from the leather industries and special loan rescheduling facilities for other viable factories. The government provided the tannery owners with Tk 1.25 billion for making roads, earthwork and electrification in the proposed area at Savar. Still they are in need of Tk 25 billion. If the government denies the owners financial support, it will not be possible for them to make the 'leather estate' a special economic zone, said a spokesman of the tannery owners association.
Being apprised of the present state of the government and the High Court order to relocate the tanneries to Savar from Hazaribagh, a parliamentary body recently observed that it might not be possible to relocate the tanneries within the stipulated time given by the High Court. It said legal and financial complexities over setting up of a central effluent treatment plant (ETP) have been raised and these could delay the move. Earlier, the High Court ordered relocation of the tanneries within February 28 next year and asked to shut down the tanneries that fail to move. About 3,000 tonnes of solid waste and 0.25 million tonnes of liquid waste generated by tanneries every month are being dumped into the rivers without any treatment. Under such dreadful circumstances, there is an immediate need for taking legal actions against tanneries causing serious environment pollution. If necessary, the tanneries should be shut down as per the law.
The Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) appeared also concerned about the legal and financial complexities of the relocation. The corporation said the tender process to set up the central ETP at Savar at a cost of Tk 4.0 billion was yet to complete as one bidder filed a case with a court. About financial complexities, the BSCIC said as per the initial Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the government and the tanners association, the government was supposed to bear the expenditure for setting up the central ETP. The MoU was reviewed during the last caretaker government that incorporated a new provision asking the tanners association to repay the cost in the next 20 years. The owners, however, refused to share the cost saying most of them are not capable of paying for the central ETP.
A recent inter-ministerial meeting at the industries ministry discussed the pros and cons of the project implementation issues in order to find ways so that the government could complete the relocation procedure in time. At the meeting, the industries ministry sought recommendations and suggestions from other ministries and stakeholders in the project work. The ministry also set the time frame for shifting the tannery plants to the Savar leather industrial estate (LIE). According to the time frame, the government is scheduled to hand over the LIE to the tanners by 2010. However, according to industry sources, the pace of project implementation and tender invitation procedure suggested that it would be difficult for the government to hand over the LIE to the tanners on schedule with all utility services and the central effluent treatment plant in place.
However, industry experts believe, escalation of the project cost by almost five times is the main cause of the delay in the project implementation. A new project needs to be planned at the escalated cost, replacing the present one. The complex procedure for inviting fresh tender for the central waste treatment plant is taking too long a time, they said. Earlier, tannery businessmen had predicted that the relocation of the tanneries from Hazaribagh to Savar would take several years since the authorities were facing various complications in acquiring and setting up the effluent treatment plant as well as due to reluctance of tannery owners. The government had prepared the first project proposal in 2003. The estimated cost of the three-year project was Tk 1.75 billion that later shot up to Tk 5.45 billion in the revised project document in 2007.
According to an industries ministry source, the project cost has been escalated by almost five times this year. For that matter, new development project proposal (DPP) needs to be prepared with the escalated cost replacing the old one, which obtained government's approval recently. The complex procedure for inviting fresh tender for the treatment plant is taking too long a time.
As has been said earlier, the government's indecision in establishing a waste treatment plant has been delaying the relocation of leather industries from Hazaribagh to Savar. The authorities have cancelled an international tender in January 2007 due to price escalation of the proposed effluent treatment plant. After that the authorities could not make any headway to invite fresh tender for setting up the plant. The pace at which the project works and tender invitation procedure were moving suggests that it would be difficult for the government to hand over the estate having all utility services and waste treatment plant in place on schedule.
Many analysts are accusing the tannery owners for their 'rigid' stand. They said the owners need to understand the fact that tanneries should no more be allowed to operate from their present location, both for environmental and health reasons. The Buriganga has to be saved at any cost and the residents of Hazaribagh must be relieved of their present predicaments. If not in Hazaribagh, the families of the tannery owners do also reside in Dhaka city, which, if made unliveable through pollution of all sorts, they and their families would also suffer. The government, while reviewing the situation with the leaders of the tannery owners' association on financial and environmental issues, should try to convey the message that the relocation move is aimed at salvaging the city not only for the present generation but also for posterity.
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szkhan@thefinancialexpress-bd.com
THE much-talked-about relocation of the tanneries from Hazaribagh in the capital to the proposed leather estate at Savar is still in limbo, with tannery owners blaming bureaucratic tangles for the unusual delay in the process. They are also bargaining hard with the government for compensation and other facilities. There are 149 tanneries at Hazaribagh and they pour thousands of litres of untreated and highly toxic liquid wastage into the Buriganga river everyday, posing a serious health hazards to human beings and animals.
In view of the tremendous environmental and health hazards, the government had taken up a project in 2003 to relocate the tanneries to Savar on the city's outskirts. As compensation for the relocation, tannery owners are demanding that the government should give them 7.0-8.0 per cent of the relocation costs -- Tk 54 billion -- as grants and loans. They want half of the amount as grants. The tannery owners have placed their demands with the government through a report jointly prepared by Bangladesh Finished Leather and Leather Goods Exporters' Association, Bangladesh Tanners Association, and Leather Goods and Footwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association of Bangladesh.
The demands also include making the 'leather estate' a special economic zone with all the facilities enjoyed by the export processing zones (EPZs), provision for easy exit of the 'weak' tanneries from the leather industries and special loan rescheduling facilities for other viable factories. The government provided the tannery owners with Tk 1.25 billion for making roads, earthwork and electrification in the proposed area at Savar. Still they are in need of Tk 25 billion. If the government denies the owners financial support, it will not be possible for them to make the 'leather estate' a special economic zone, said a spokesman of the tannery owners association.
Being apprised of the present state of the government and the High Court order to relocate the tanneries to Savar from Hazaribagh, a parliamentary body recently observed that it might not be possible to relocate the tanneries within the stipulated time given by the High Court. It said legal and financial complexities over setting up of a central effluent treatment plant (ETP) have been raised and these could delay the move. Earlier, the High Court ordered relocation of the tanneries within February 28 next year and asked to shut down the tanneries that fail to move. About 3,000 tonnes of solid waste and 0.25 million tonnes of liquid waste generated by tanneries every month are being dumped into the rivers without any treatment. Under such dreadful circumstances, there is an immediate need for taking legal actions against tanneries causing serious environment pollution. If necessary, the tanneries should be shut down as per the law.
The Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) appeared also concerned about the legal and financial complexities of the relocation. The corporation said the tender process to set up the central ETP at Savar at a cost of Tk 4.0 billion was yet to complete as one bidder filed a case with a court. About financial complexities, the BSCIC said as per the initial Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the government and the tanners association, the government was supposed to bear the expenditure for setting up the central ETP. The MoU was reviewed during the last caretaker government that incorporated a new provision asking the tanners association to repay the cost in the next 20 years. The owners, however, refused to share the cost saying most of them are not capable of paying for the central ETP.
A recent inter-ministerial meeting at the industries ministry discussed the pros and cons of the project implementation issues in order to find ways so that the government could complete the relocation procedure in time. At the meeting, the industries ministry sought recommendations and suggestions from other ministries and stakeholders in the project work. The ministry also set the time frame for shifting the tannery plants to the Savar leather industrial estate (LIE). According to the time frame, the government is scheduled to hand over the LIE to the tanners by 2010. However, according to industry sources, the pace of project implementation and tender invitation procedure suggested that it would be difficult for the government to hand over the LIE to the tanners on schedule with all utility services and the central effluent treatment plant in place.
However, industry experts believe, escalation of the project cost by almost five times is the main cause of the delay in the project implementation. A new project needs to be planned at the escalated cost, replacing the present one. The complex procedure for inviting fresh tender for the central waste treatment plant is taking too long a time, they said. Earlier, tannery businessmen had predicted that the relocation of the tanneries from Hazaribagh to Savar would take several years since the authorities were facing various complications in acquiring and setting up the effluent treatment plant as well as due to reluctance of tannery owners. The government had prepared the first project proposal in 2003. The estimated cost of the three-year project was Tk 1.75 billion that later shot up to Tk 5.45 billion in the revised project document in 2007.
According to an industries ministry source, the project cost has been escalated by almost five times this year. For that matter, new development project proposal (DPP) needs to be prepared with the escalated cost replacing the old one, which obtained government's approval recently. The complex procedure for inviting fresh tender for the treatment plant is taking too long a time.
As has been said earlier, the government's indecision in establishing a waste treatment plant has been delaying the relocation of leather industries from Hazaribagh to Savar. The authorities have cancelled an international tender in January 2007 due to price escalation of the proposed effluent treatment plant. After that the authorities could not make any headway to invite fresh tender for setting up the plant. The pace at which the project works and tender invitation procedure were moving suggests that it would be difficult for the government to hand over the estate having all utility services and waste treatment plant in place on schedule.
Many analysts are accusing the tannery owners for their 'rigid' stand. They said the owners need to understand the fact that tanneries should no more be allowed to operate from their present location, both for environmental and health reasons. The Buriganga has to be saved at any cost and the residents of Hazaribagh must be relieved of their present predicaments. If not in Hazaribagh, the families of the tannery owners do also reside in Dhaka city, which, if made unliveable through pollution of all sorts, they and their families would also suffer. The government, while reviewing the situation with the leaders of the tannery owners' association on financial and environmental issues, should try to convey the message that the relocation move is aimed at salvaging the city not only for the present generation but also for posterity.
........................................................
szkhan@thefinancialexpress-bd.com