Bangladeshi tanners demand relocation compensation
According to local news reports, the relocation of
tanneries from Hazaribagh to Savar in Bangladesh has been held up because the
tannery owners are reluctant to move.
Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation
(BSCIC) has allocated 205 industrial plots to 155 tanneries in the 200-acre
leather park at Hemayetpur, Savar. Roads, water treatment plants, gas,
electricity and sewerage have already been set up at the tannery zone, but it
is still waiting on a central effluent treatment plant (CETP).
Before they will agree to the move, it is believed
tannery owners are calling for a CETP to be established, as well as the offer
of easily accessible loans and compensation of 10.9 billion taka ($133.4 million).
According to the Bangladesh Tanners' Association,
leather, leathergoods and footwear exports exceeded 62 billion taka in fiscal
2011-12.
