The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has got an extension of seven more months to demolish its 15-storey building. The complex has been built ‘illegitimately’ in the Dhaka’s Hatirjheel area.
A five-member bench of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court (SC) headed by Acting Chief Justice Md Abdul Wahhab Miah passed the order on Sunday.
The decision has come after the apex garment manufacturers’ association sought one more year to shift its office to Uttara where it has been allotted a plot.
“The six-month time ended on September 12, and the new seven-month time, which was allocated will be counted from that day, which means that six months and four days are left for the relocation,” a BGMEA lawyer underlined.
The Appellate Division of the SC also said that it would not extend the deadline further.
On March 5 this year, BGMEA lost its last legal battle to keep its structure intact on the scenic waterbody of Hatirjheel after the Appellate Division rejected its plea seeking review of its judgment which upheld an earlier High Court verdict ordering demolition of the structure.
On March 12, the Appellate Division granted the garment trade association six months to demolish its complex, rejecting a plea of the RMG producers seeking three years’ time.
In 2011, the High Court ordered demolition of the 15-storey building as it was constructed allegedly in defiance of relevant laws.
Subsequently, the BGMEA filed a leave to appeal petition with the Appellate Division against the HC verdict. However, the HC on June 2, 2016, dismissed the plea as well and asked the association to demolish its headquarters at once at its own cost.
