Dhaka: Tannery owners who failed to shift their factories to Savar Tannery Estate filed a petition with the Supreme Court on Thursday seeking a stay on a High Court order asking the authorities concerned to take steps to close down 154 Hazaribagh tanneries immediately.

The Appellate Division bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice SK Sinha, will hear the petition on Sunday, said court sources.

On March 6, an HC bench comprising Justice Refaat Ahmed and Justice Md Selim ordered the authorities concerned to take steps to close down 154 Hazaribagh tanneries immediately.

The court had also ordered disconnecting electricity, gas and water supplies to the tanneries.

Earlier on March 2, the HC directed the 154 Hazaribagh tannery owners, who had not pay fine as per the court’s previous directive, to pay Tk 306.5 million for not relocating their factories within the given time.

On March 1, the Industries secretary submitted a list of 154 errant tannery owners who had not pay Tk 10,000 fine per day according to the court’s previous directive.

On February 7, the secretary appeared before the court following its directive to explain his failure to collect Tk 10,000 per day from the tannery owners.

On July 18 last, the Supreme Court ordered each of the 154 tannery owners at Hazaribagh to pay the government Tk 10,000 per day as fine for not relocating their factories.

The court also ordered the government to donate 50 percent of the fine to the National Liver Foundation of Bangladesh.

On January 10 last, the Industries secretary submitted a report before the court mentioning that 150 companies paid Tk 10,000 each in August last while four paid the fine for September while three others for October last.

In 2001, the High Court passed an order for relocating the tannery industries from Hazaribagh of the capital.

The government extended several times the relocation deadline following requests from the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC), the implementing agency of the tannery estate project.