Top court to hear BGMEA’s plea Oct 5 for time extension for building demolition

The top court has fixed Oct 5 to hear another plea for time extension from the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association or BGMEA, which is under legal pressure to demolish its multi-storey office building in Dhaka.

In a 2011 verdict, the High Court found that the building had been constructed by violating the law meant to protect wetlands and ordered its demolition. The court said the building was hindering the water flow of Begunbari canal and hampering the Hatirjheel project.

In its latest petition filed on Aug 23, the BGMEA sought one more year from the Appellate Division to demolish its office building.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has allocated about 3 acres of land in Uttara sector-17 for the top apparel business body at a price half the actual rate for constructing its new office building.

BGMEA cleared the payment and got the documents of the land on Sept 7, said its President Md Siddiqur Rahman.

An Appellate Division bench headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha will hear the plea on Oct 5, set by Chamber Judge Hasan Foez Siddique after a hearing on Monday.

Kamrul Hoque Siddiqui and Imtiaz Mainul Islam argued for BGMEA while Attorney General Mahbubey Alam represented the state.

The Supreme Court had granted BGMEA a six-month deadline to demolish the building that currently houses its offices. The deadline ended on Monday.

“We respect the law. We will move out as soon as the construction of our new offices is complete, which will take another year,” BGMEA chief Rahman said at a media briefing on Saturday.

The BGMEA building built about two decades ago endangered wetlands in Dhaka. In 1998, the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina laid the foundation stone of the building. The construction began the same year. The building was inaugurated in 2006 by Khaleda Zia as prime minister.