Bangladesh seek 1 year extension to relocate HQ

Bangladesh: The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has filed a petition with the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court seeking one year’s time to relocate its headquarters (BGMEA Bhawan).Bangladesh: The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has filed a petition with the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court seeking one year’s time to relocate its headquarters (BGMEA Bhawan).

The headquarters is currently located at Hatirjheel in Dhaka’s Karwan Bazar area. The apex court has ordered the trade association to relocate to Uttara as it has reportedly been built in alleged violation of the country’s environmental laws.

The SC will hear the petition on October 3 once the annual vacation ends, BGMEA lawyer Barrister Imtiaj Moinul Islam mentioned.

The BGMEA headquarters was built in 2006 on a prime location. It reportedly blocked the Hatirjheel integrated scheme, a storm drainage system, aimed at draining out storm water from the Paribagh, Karwan Bazar and Eskaton areas of Dhaka.

In 2011, the Bangladesh HC ordered the demolition of the 15-storey building on the sustainability basis.

On March 5, 2017, the SC dismissed a petition filed by the BGMEA seeking a review of the HC verdict and subsequently allowed six months’ time to take down the structure and relocate the same to another place.

According to the BGMEA, the six-month period allotted by the SC will end on September 12 this year. They have stated that the process of relocating has commenced already.

The association has reportedly even created a fund for the construction of its new office complex in Sector 13 of Uttara area. The Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk), the authority to allocate land in Dhaka, has also allocated the land parcel for the new HQ. However, the relocation process will need more time, said BGMEA.