Unapproved plots, flats sold in REHAB Fair

Many land development projects having no approval of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha and even some projects earlier cancelled by the city development authorities were up for sales in the REHAB Fair in defiance of the Private Housing Project Land Development Rules 2004.
The state minister for housing and public works, Abdul Mannan Khan, on Tuesday inaugurated the fair, organised by the Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh at the Sheraton Hotel. The fair, joined in by 262 real estate and housing companies, ended on Saturday.
In line with suggestions of the parliamentary standing committee on the housing and public works ministry, Rajuk about six months ago scrapped five projects of three housing companies as they ‘failed to meet the conditions for approval.’
The ventures are Bashundhara Housing Project (Phase I extension near the Baridhara diplomatic zone) of the East West Property Development, Swarnali Housing Project (Phase I) of the Swadesh Properties and extensions to three projects of the Eastern Housing Limited — Banasri New Town Housing Project, Pallabi Housing Project (Phase II) and Rampura Extension Housing Project.
The developers earlier in 2006 obtained approval for the projects on condition that they would meet the criteria for approval by September 2008. The military-controlled interim regime then gave the developers one more month to meet the approval criteria.
 Six months inside the assumption of office by the Awami League-led government, Rajuk cancelled the approval for the projects. The authorities also published advertisements in newspapers and posted notice on its web site asking people not to buy land, plots or flats of any of the unapproved projects.
The advertisement and the online notice also named some other projects such as a project of the Jamuna-Bashundhara Housing Development Ltd, Bashundhara Riverview Residential Project of the East-West Property Development Pvt Ltd and East Town, North Town and South Town projects of the Bangladesh Development company Ltd as unapproved.
The notice said: ‘The real estate companies were publishing colourful advertisements to sell projects that are not approved by Rajuk. Customers are therefore, informed of such unauthorised projects.’
But the Jamuna-Bashundhara Housing Ltd, East-West Property Development Pvt Ltd and Swadesh Properties put their projects, cancelled by Rajuk, up for sales in the REHAB Fair. The Eastern Housing Limited had a stall in the fair but it did not put its unapproved project up for sales.
A Jamuna-Bashundhara Housing official, who was selling the company’s plots in the fair on Saturday, told New Age, ‘Most of the projects and plots up for sales here are unauthorised.’
‘It is Bangladesh and nobody goes by the law here,’ he said. Asked whether buyers might face any trouble after they would buy plots of such unapproved projects, he said, ‘There will be no problem. Everything will be all right in course of time.’
Asked about action Rajuk has taken against companies selling projects having no approval in the REHAB fair, the chief town planner of the city development authorities, Jahurul Haque, on Saturday said ‘When the fair began, we published advertisements in newspapers warning people against the purchase of plots of unauthorised projects.’
‘Rajuk scrapped the approval for the projects about six months ago. And no companies have since then done anything to have their projects approved,’ he said.
In reply to a question about actions taken other than warning buyers against the purchase of such plots or flats of such unapproved projects, he said, ‘We have filed cases against them.’
‘What can the government alone do if buyers and you, the media people, do not become aware?’ he said.

Courtesy of NewAgebd