Dhaka, March 28 – The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court Wednesday decided to pass its order on April 2 on a petition filed by Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters’ Association (BGMEA) seeking time for demolishing the BGMEA Bhaban in the Hatirjheel Lake of Dhaka City.After hearing on an undertaking submitted by the apex body of the country’s garment sector, a four-member Appellate Division bench, led by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, asked it to place the bond afresh inserting some more lines.
Earlier, on Tuesday, the apex court asked the BGMEA to give an undertaking that it would not file any more time petition in connection with demolishing its building.
Advocate Kamrul Haque Siddiqui and Imtiaz Moinul Islam stood for the BGMEA. He said the Appellate Division bench asked for amending the undertaking with some insertions that the BGMEA will demolish its building within one year and if the authorities concerned do not comply with the court order, the Board of Directors will be responsible for it.
On March 5, the BGMEA authorities filed a petition with the apex court seeking one year more as its seven months’ time granted in September, 2017 by the Supreme Court for reducing the building to ruins expires in March.
The BGMEA lost its last legal battle to keep its structure intact on the scenic water-body as the Appellate Division rejected its plea seeking review of its judgment that upheld an earlier High Court verdict, ordering demolition of the structure.
In 2011, the High Court ordered demolition of the 16-storey building as it was constructed in defiance of relevant laws, calling it a ‘cancer’ in the lake.
The BGMEA later filed a leave-to- appeal (petition) with the Appellate Division against the High Court judgment, but the apex court on June 2, 2016, dismissed the plea and asked the RMG producers to demolish its headquarters at once at its own cost. – Special Correspondent
