Construction of the planned 60 feet road linking the Grameen Bank headquarters with the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation faces further delays as the process of land acquisition for the road is yet to be completed.
The Dhaka North City Corporation has not been able to acquire many pockets of the route as some owners of land in those areas have filed cases against the compulsory land acquisition, said locals and project officials.
Besides, owners of some plots that have already been acquired are refusing to allow the project personnel to demolish their houses, they said.
Despite such hurdles, the DNCC hopes to build the road by June.
‘We hope we can complete the road by June this year,’ project director Abdur Rajjak told New Age. ‘If the construction is not completed by then, it will merely need another couple of months,’ he said.
He said legal cases were not a major problem. ‘Every one naturally tries to protect his or her home but we are talking with the local people as well as the affluent section of them to resolve the issue.’
Abdur Rajjak said, ‘Problems like these arise whenever the government goes for land acquisition. But the road is being constructed for the benefits of the people. So, personally, I think it’s not fair for any one to take such legal steps against a project aimed at benefiting the masses.’
The project director said the process of land acquisition was on and the land owners were being asked to vacate their places. ‘The compensation has already been given to them.’
But project officials said they were yet to acquire four mosques, a post office and a building of the Jatiya Andha Kalyan Samity.
Besides, many buildings that have already been acquired are yet to be demolished.
Three contractors are working to build the 3.6 kilometre road along with footpaths and a divider.
The erstwhile Dhaka city corporation took the project in 2004 following the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha’s 1995 master plan. The original plan did not allow for construction of any building on the route of the road.
The total project cost is estimated at Tk 240 crore, of which Tk 40 crore is allocated for road construction and the rest for land acquisition and compensating the owners of the acquired land.
Late initiation of the process of land acquisition is the main reason for the delay, said Anowar Hossain, a supervisor at one of the contractors. ‘Land acquisition began as late as in January this year and, in many places, buildings are yet to be demolished,’ he said.
The owner of a contractor firm, Mobasser Chowdhury, said, ‘No decision has yet been taken about the mosques.’
On the issue, Abdur Rajjak said they would take a decision after discussing with the local people and it would be by consensus.
-With New Age input
