We can at best express our cautious optimism at the news that a major deal has been struck between the government and the tannery associations to expedite relocation of the hazardous tanneries from Hazaribagh to Savar. The reservation about the new resolve stems from the fact that many previous commitments to completing the relocation process have passed into oblivion.
We would, however, like to keep faith with the latest deal because it spells out a definitive timeframe with a certain sense of urgency but also has 205 plots on 200 acres of land lined up in Savar to house 155 tanneries.
The issues relating to a plot for chemical suppliers, mortgages and soft-term loans would have to be solved before the relocation agenda gathers an irreversible momentum. The test for the government is how much progress it can achieve with the tanneries in the remainder of its tenure to place implementation on a steady course.
So far, the decades-old demand for relocation of the tanneries was based on environmental grounds, and rightly so: A large swathe of the capital city has remained polluted because of the chemical effluents disgorging from the tanneries. But there are other reasons of compelling nature that should prompt the leather industries into speeding up their relocation to Savar. These have to do with standards of international compliance in terms of environment protection and waste management. With relocation, we are looking to an export industry worth US$ five billion in place of current one billion only.
At long last ...
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