& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Tannery town land acquisition okayed

REZAUL KARIM
The government yesterday approved acquisition of 182.40 acres of land at Savar and Keraniganj to set up a tannery town in the next two years in an effort to cut environmental pollution in Dhaka.
About 700 privately owned units of 185 industries or 95 percent of Bangladesh's tannery industry dot Dhaka's Hazaribagh area and release untreated waste in the Buriganga river, which will be relocated to the town.
The green light to land acquisition came at a meeting of the Central Land Allotment Committee held yesterday with Land Minister M Shamsul Islam in the chair.
The land for the tannery town at Chanda Narayanpur and Char
Narayanpur under Kandibailarpur of Savar and Keraniganj upazilas was chosen in a detailed survey.
The deputy commissioner of Dhaka recommended the land that houses no anti-acquisition establishment or institution.
A meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) with Prime Minister Khaleda Zia in the chair on August 16 approved a Tk 175.75 crore project to set up the tannery town by December 2005.
One hundred and ninety-five industrial plots of four categories -80,000 sqft, 40,000 sqft, 20000 sqft and a special size -- will be developed in the town.
Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) will develop the town which will employ about 1,00000 people.
SEE PAGE 11 COL 1
FROM PAGE 1
According to the project, the government will bankroll 60 percent of the project cost and mobilise the rest in loan or grant from foreign sources.
Officials said the government, which has been trying to find foreign lenders for the project, is ready to fund the rest in case of non-availability of any foreign sources.
The government has also asked the authorities to take effective steps for quick implementation of this project to cut down on environmental pollution in the capital where the industries have thrived over the last 50 years.
Officials said the government is firm to relocate the industries to the town.
Hazaribagh tanneries spew nearly 21,600 square metres of waste into the Buriganga river on average.
The tannery industry manufactures 7 million square metres of leather a year that fetch Bangladesh Tk 1,500 crore to Tk 1,600 crores.
Officials said the relocation of the tanneries could boost the industry and help it attract foreign investment.
Legislator LK Siddiqi, Land Secretary Azad Ruhul Amin, Housing and Public Works Secretary Aminur Rahman and high officials attended the allotment committee meeting.
The committee also approved
acquisition of more land for the construction of government facilities and institutions including a women's university, Ansars-VDP barracks and a youth training centre.
The committee approved acquisition of 208.1997 acres in total, including 2.38 acres for the establishment of the Asian University for Women at Jalalabad in Chittagong, 1.50 acres for the Youth Training Centre at Narayanganj, two acres for an orphanage at Rupganj in Narayanganj, 1.63 acres for Ansar-VDP barracks in Barisal and 10.175 acres for Gulbagh Housing Cooperatives Limited at Savar.
The land minister at the meeting stressed proper utilisation of the land, saying: "We must ensure that not a single inch of land remains unutilised."