One of the main reasons is non-compliance with Environmental, Social, and Quality (ESQ) standards

Hazaribagh has transformed itself into a leather products manufacturing hub from a tannery zone in a span of five years since rawhides processors were shifted to Savar, logging an annual trade of Tk 60 crore. 

The Supreme Court releases the full text of its order that evicted the 155 Hazaribagh tanneries along with Tk 50,000 fine for each for polluting the environment.

The tannery owners seek permission from the High Court to operate their industries at Hazaribagh in Dhaka till Eid-ul Azha this year, saying that project of Tannery Industrial Estate including the central effluent plant (CETP) at Savar is not fully ready now for their relocation.

The Supreme Court upholds a High Court order that directed the director general of the Department of Environment to immediately close tanneries running at Hazaribagh and disconnect their utility services.

While we have been hearing about the relocation of tanneries from Hazaribagh area to Savar for more than a decade, nothing major has happened on either side.

Tanners are likely to ask the government to give them six to eight more months to relocate their factories from the capital's Hazaribagh area to Savar Tannery Industrial Estate.

With tanners dithering over relocation of their factories to Savar, the High Court yesterday ordered the owners of 154 tanneries in the capital's Hazaribagh to pay Tk 50,000 each a day in compensation for damaging the environment in the area.