BGMEA building demolition: Hearing on review plea adjourned

The Supreme Court today adjourned the hearing until March 5 on a review petition filed against its order for demolishing the 15-storey “BGMEA Complex” located in Hatirjheel lake in Dhaka.

It also fixed March 5 for resuming the hearing on the petition filed by Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) authorities seeking three years’ time for demolishing the building.

A three-member bench of the Appellate Division of the SC headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha passed the adjournment order after Attorney General Mahbubey Alam said that he needs to talk to the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) for getting its position about the BGMEA building.

Earlier in the day, the apex court wanted to know from the attorney general about the Rajuk’s stand over this issue.

BGMEA authorities on December 8 last year submitted the review petition to the SC, seeking three years’ time for demolishing the BGMEA Complex. 

The authorities prayed to the SC to review the verdict considering the contribution of the garment sector to national exports.

The SC on November 8 last year released the full text of its verdict in which the apex court upheld the HC judgment that ordered BGMEA to immediately demolish at its own cost its 15-storey “BGMEA Complex” constructed illegally on the Begunbari canal and Hatirjheel lake in the heart of the capital.

Otherwise, Rajuk will do it within 90 days of receiving the order and realise the cost from BGMEA, it said.