No more delays, please!

The tannery relocation to Savar saga may finally be witnessing a positive outcome with the central bank's declaration of an incentives package offered to the industry. It would allow for polluting factories to take loans with an 8-year repayment period where no interest will be charged for the first year. Given that the government has made substantial investments in acquiring land to make the industrial park at Savar viable, it is high time the industry reciprocated with good intent to fulfil their end of the bargain. One of the prime demands of the industry had been to get easy bank credit for relocation purposes and that demand is now in the offing.
Although the initial reaction from the Bangladesh Tanners' Association has been positive, we must reiterate our stand that authorities need to stick to relocation timeline, which is six months from now. And if this involves a government stance to cancel registration of tanners by March next year on failure to relocate, then that is something that has to be done in the interests of protecting public health.
The industry should relocate to guard its own interests which face a backlash from the European Union that unless the industry goes “green” in the foreseeable future, the leather industry could face ban on its products. Given that the leather exports have crossed the US$1billion a year and posting double digit growth rates in recent years, it is high time the tannery industry lived up to expectations on being a responsible sector that cared for the environment.