The official review panel has asked the owners of seven garment factories operating in three buildings in Chattogram to close down immediately, as they were found risky for workers.
These factories were inspected under a national initiative taken after Rana Plaza tragedy.
The panel is headed by the inspector general of the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE).
It was formed back in 2013 to decide on the closure of any garment factory if found risky or non-compliant during inspections by any of the three initiatives under the Accord, the Alliance and the government-ILO joint programme.
The Accord and the Alliance are two platforms of Western retailers.
The review panel sat in a meeting on Monday, the first in two years, officials said.
"The DIFE has earlier issued notices asking the owners to close the factories and stop use of those buildings as they have been found risky and vulnerable. On Monday, the panel again asked the owners of four factories to comply with the notice," DIFE Inspector General Shibnath Roy told the FE.
The official panel asked Sea Shore Apparels Ltd., Madina Establishments, Inter Care Ltd. and a printing factory located in a same building at Chattogram to close down immediately and also imposed restrictions on the use of the building, a meeting source said.
On March 13 this year, the DIFE instructed Angela Fashion Ltd. in Chattogram to stop all activities of its factory for the sake of workers' safety, as cracks developed in the building, according to a DIFE letter.
It said that the panel asked Angela Fashion on June 17 in 2014 to undertake remedial work, but the factory authorities are yet to take any measures to this end.
Earlier, DIFE has also instructed three more factories located in a building in the port city to close down immediately, officials said.
A total of 150 factories have been referred to the review panel since its inception.
Of the 150 factories, 39 factories were closed, 42 factories were partially closed and 69 factories were allowed to operate with some recommendations, according to DIFE website.
After the Rana Plaza building collapse in 2013, EU-based buyers platform Accord assessed fire, electrical and structural integrity in some 1600 garment factories while the Alliance, another platform of North America-based buyers and retailers inspected some 700 factories.
The remaining 1549 factories were assessed under the national initiative and there remedial progress is very poor while progress is more than 90 per cent in the western retailers' listed factories, according to industry people.
