Dhaka: The High Court on Wednesday rejected a petition filed by the tannery owners seeking permission to continue their activities at Hazaribagh in the capital until Eid-ul-Azha.

An HC bench of Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed and Justice Md Salim rejected the petition.

Syeda Rizwana Hasan of Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) said with the High Court order, there is no scope of continuing the tannery activities in Hazaribagh.

Earlier on Thursday last, the tannery owners filed the petition with the High Court seeking its permission to continue their activities at Hazaribagh.

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

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

The HC earlier 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.

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 per cent 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.