Dhaka: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court upheld High Court’s order to close down 154 tanneries at Hazaribagh in Dhaka.

A three-member bench of Appellate Division led by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha on Sunday upheld the order after rejecting a petition filed by the tannery owners.

The other two members of the Appellate bench are Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain and Justice Hassan Foyez Siddique.

Earlier, on 6 March, the High Court ordered the authorities concerned to take steps to close down 154 Hazaribagh tanneries immediately.

An HC bench comprising Justice Refaat Ahmed and Justice Mohammad Selim issued the order.

The court also ordered disconnecting electricity, gas lines and water supply to the tanneries, said Syeda Rizwana Hasan of Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA).

Earlier on Thursday, 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 Wednesday, 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 7 February, 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 18 July 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 per cent of the fine to the National Liver Foundation of Bangladesh.

On 10 January 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 Dhaka.

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.