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]]>Bangladesh Bank on Wednesday asked the scheduled banks not to sanction loans to private ventures for developing lands, constructing buildings and purchasing flats if they do not have the approval of the authorities concerned. To this end, the BB issued a circular to managing directors and chief executive officers of all the banks saying that the central bank had observed that some banks were disbursing loans to private ventures for developing lands or constructing buildings that do not have the approval of the authorities concerned.
Besides, some banks and non-bank financial institutions are not taking the approval of the municipality office to construct their own structures or buildings, which
is a violation of the rules and regulations of the banking sector, the circular said.
Before disbursing loans, a bank has to check that if the project adheres to all the rules and regulations of the Land Development Act – 2004, it added.
The banks would have to ensure through spot inspection that the land developers do not
use the fund in other real estate projects, it further said.
The banks may not release the mortgaged lands before all the instalments of the loans are paid had they disbursed loans to housing projects that do not have the approval of Rajuk and other organisations concerned.
However, the banks will be able to disburse loans to all government, autonomous, private organisations and personal projects if they take approval
from the municipality office under the Local Government (Municipality) Act – 2009, added the circular.
The BB asked the banks to implement the rules stated in the circular with immediate effect.
-With New Age input
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]]>The High Court yesterday once again directed Rajuk to immediately stop all activities of unauthorised housing projects including their filling of land, advertisements, and selling plots in and around Dhaka.
In response to a writ petition, the court ordered the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha to stop such activities of Ashiyan City, a housing project, which had a conditional and partial approval from the housing ministry to develop land in Holan and Ashkona near Uttara in the capital.
Ashiyan City is one of 78 private housing projects in and around Dhaka city which were declared illegal by another High Court bench in June, 2011. In December, 2011, the court banned publishing of advertisements of any unauthorised housing projects in the print and electronic media.
The High Court then ordered the government to take stern legal action against publicity and filling of land for such projects.
Yesterday, the High Court stayed for three months the effectiveness of Ashiyan City’s site clearance, issued by the Department of Environment, and the renewal of the certificate.
It also issued a rule upon the government authorities concerned and Ashiyan City to explain within four weeks as to why the issuance of the environmental certificate and the renewal should not be declared illegal.
The DoE issued Ashiyan City the certificate on December 24, 2009, and renewed it on June 12, 2012.
The court yesterday stayed an order of the Ministry of Environment that had reduced Ashiyan City’s penalty for illegally filling up water bodies with dirt.
The DoE in November, 2011, fined Ashiyan City Tk 50 lakh for destroying wetlands, flood plains, aquatic life and local ecology by illegal filling of land in Ashkona. The ministry later slashed the fine to Tk 5 lakh.
The court yesterday asked the authorities concerned to explain within four weeks as to why this reduction of fine should not be declared illegal.
Secretaries to the ministries of housing and public works, land, forest and environment, home, information, and Rajuk chairman, director general of DoE, and its director (monitoring and enforcement), deputy commissioner of Dhaka and managing director of Ashiyan City have been made respondents to the rules.
In a rule, the bench of Justice Mirza Hussain Haider and Justice Khurshid Alam Khan asked the managing director of Ashiyan City to explain as to why he should not be directed to remove the dirt he had dumped in the wetlands.
It asked him to immediately submit a list of plots he had already sold to people and all papers and documents relating to the approval of the housing project.
The court came up with the order and rules after hearing a writ petition jointly filed by eight rights organisations that said Ashiyan City authorities had been filling and constructing structures on around 230 acres of land even though the company had Rajuk permission for development on only 43 acres.
Ashiyan City grabbed land of locals for the projects violating wetland conservation and other relevant laws and the High Court’s earlier directives, the petitioners claimed.
Scores of affected people of Holan and Ashkona had gathered with complaints against Ashiyan City on November 17, 2011, when a DoE team had gone there and fined Ashiyan City. They complained of land-grabbing and destruction of their homesteads.
At least 33 affected locals formally filed allegations against Ashiyan City.
Ain O Salish Kendra, Association for Land Reforms and Development, Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association, Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust, Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon, Institute of Architects Bangladesh, Nijera Kori, and Paribesh Banchao Andolon filed the petition on December 22, 2012.
Iqbal Kabir Lytton, a counsel for the petitioners, told The Daily Star that around 100 unauthorised housing projects were filling water bodies and selling plots of land in and around the Dhaka city.
Most of them were also running advertisements through the media ignoring the court’s earlier orders, he claimed.
Rajuk must take steps immediately to stop activities of the unauthorised housing projects, he said.
-With The Daily Star input
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]]>TIB slates legalisation
Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) yesterday condemned the government’s decision to legalise some illegal housing schemes defying a High Court directive and ignoring environmental impacts.
Expressing deep concern over the decision by an inter-ministerial body to “provisionally’ approve the projects, the anti-graft watchdog urged the government to cancel the decision immediately and refrain from doing the same. The HC in June last year had declared the projects illegal.
“The decision is as regrettable, illegal and unacceptable as it is damaging for the reputation of the government. It raises questions about the government’s commitment to the rule of law, public interest and environmental justice,” Dr Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of TIB, said in a statement.
The government decision not only defies the court directive to take action against illegal schemes in wetlands and farmland, but also undermines its credibility in terms of its commitment to environmental sustainability, he added.
It is common knowledge for all including the Department of Environment that the project areas are part of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha’s Detailed Area Plan (DAP) and the schemes have been declared illegal particularly for their adverse environmental implications, mentioned the TIB official.
Such moves, he noted, are bound to damage the credibility of the government and raise doubts about the moral and ethical basis of its high-sounding commitment to fight environmental degradation and climate change.
-With UNB/The Daily Star input
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]]>Govt making those legal
The government has legalised two illegal private housing schemes and is going to okay at least four others to the destruction of natural wetlands and rural homesteads on the capital’s north-eastern fringe.An inter-ministerial body led by the housing minister conditionally approved BDDL Natundhara and United City (Neptune Land Development) in early May following recommendations from Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk).
Other schemes awaiting partial approval soon are Bashundhara (East West Property Development), Ashiyan City and Swarnali Abashan.
All of these housing schemes are among the 77 projects declared illegal by the High Court in June last year.
The court had directed the government to take action against the schemes developed over the past decade by filling up low-lying wetlands, water bodies, rural homesteads and croplands.
A year before the HC directives, an expert body on Dhaka’s detailed area plan (DAP) recommended removal of BDDL Natundhara, Swarnali Abashan and United City, showing those to be on floodplains in Bhatara, Santarkul, Dumni and Sutibhola moujas.
In addition, two housing schemes — Aftabnagar of Eastern Housing and Green Model Town of Amin Mohammad Group — which were initiated years ago without the required permission are now in the pipeline for approval, official sources have said.
In November last year, the environment department fined Ashiyan for destroying wetlands, floodplains and local ecology through illegal earth-filling in Dakshinkhan mouja.
According to findings by the assistant commissioner (land) office, Ashiyan has filled up and changed the character of 230-acre low-lying wetlands, homesteads of the rural poor, and destroyed graveyards and cropland though the company owns only 43 acres.
A deputy director of Rajuk’s town planning section issued a notice in August last year asking Ashiyan Managing Director Nazrul Islam to stop illegal development of Ashiyan City and Ashiyan Shital Chhaya and their advertisements on television and newspapers.
An executive magistrate has found that Ashiyan has destroyed biodiversity and local ecology by filling up low-lying wetlands, including Ashkona-Kaola canal, croplands and rural homesteads, according to documents obtained by The Daily Star.
According to records, at least 33 affected locals have filed complaint with the environment department of Ashiyan’s earth-filling on their land.
Within Bashundhara housing area, there are 216-acre Court of Wards land and 18-acre Khas land, including river and canal, said Zanendra Nath Sarker, ADC (revenue) of Dhaka.
Also, a 44-decimal Court of Wards land and a 23-decimal Union Parishad land fall within Ashiyan City and a 20-decimal khas land within Swarnali Abashan.
Nurul Huda, chairman of Rajuk, said the organisation had made the recommendation, as the district administration, utility agencies and the environment department had given clearances.
Asked why they recommended approving illegal schemes, Huda said, “Bashundhara and some other schemes recently complied with the rules.”
“We cannot hold back approval after a developer obtains clearances from other agencies,” he said.
Sheikh Abdul Mannan, member (planning) of Rajuk board, said, “We initiated the approval process considering the sufferings of land owners under the unapproved housing schemes, as they cannot build structures.”
Syeda Rizwana Hasan, chief executive of Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (Bela), said Rajuk cannot play the same role as any other agency and approve housing projects taken up illegally.
“It should have challenged the clearances of other agencies because the developers have destroyed the character of the land and its use.
“The stance the government had taken earlier contradicts what it is doing now,” she added.
Prof Jamilur Reza Chowdhury, who led the DAP expert committee, said such schemes were not legally permissible as long as DAP was in place.
Prof Sarwar Jahan, who teaches urban and regional planning at Buet, said the government should have widened and inter-linked all the natural canals, lakes and other water bodies before allowing the development of urban residential zone on the eastern fringe.
Since the developers embarked illegally on real-estate development by destroying natural wetlands and floodplains years back, he said, who is going to prevent it if they continue with such destruction?
Abu Hasan Mortuza, Rajuk town planner, said all the aspiring developers would soon get approval and flood flow zone would be excluded if there was any in the proposed projects.
Bashundhara has submitted a revised layout of a 1,435-acre first-phase scheme in Baridhara (A-L blocks). However, it owns 1,213 acres only, as per documents at Rajuk and the deputy commissioner’s office.
Ashiyan City has placed a layout covering a 43-acre area.
Swarnali Abashan has ownership on 75 acres of land of its 760-acre project area, according to DC office records, while BDDL Natundhara owns 173 acres of its 360-acre proposed area.
Rules say a housing scheme has to leave one-third of an approved area for open space and amenities.
Courtesy of The Daily Star
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]]>Rajuk suspends 21 firms’ registration
Rajuk yesterday suspended registration of 21 listed housing companies, including many prominent ones, for undertaking illegal land projects and selling plots at the ongoing Rehab fair in the capital.
It also served notices on around 20 other companies at the fair venue that are not listed with Rajuk, asking them to stop development of their unapproved land projects immediately.
The capital’s housing authority took the measure in the wake of repeated media reports that it allowed display and sale of unapproved land projects in the fair, violating a High Court directive.
The High Court on December 7 ordered the government to stop advertisement and flat-selling of unapproved housing projects.
The housing companies, whose registrations were suspended, include East West Properties Ltd, Ashyan Lands Development Ltd, Amin Mohammad Lands Development Ltd, Nobodoy Housing Ltd, MA Wahab and Sons Ltd, Shatabdi Housing Ltd, Biswas Builders Ltd, Metro Properties Ltd, Bhulua Royal City Private Ltd, New Vision Lands Development Ltd.
Of the well-known companies, which were served notice include BDDL, Hirajheel Properties Development Ltd, Four Seasons Holdings Ltd, Bashukunja Lands Development Ltd, Bashudha Builders Ltd, US Bangla Group, Udayan Properties Development Ltd, Purbachal NRB Homes Ltd.
The capital’s housing authority, however, spared two projects — Priya Prangan and Alifia Model Town — owned by Nasrul Hamid Bipu, a ruling party lawmaker and also president of Rehab.
Sheikh Abdul Mannan, member (planning) of Rajuk, said that they would go for filing cases against owners of illegal projects if they fail to prove the legality of their projects.
Syeda Rizwana Hasan, executive director of Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (Bela), said, Rajuk could have taken a much more pro-active role beforehand.
The unapproved housing project owners have excellent skills to buy off the system, she said.
“At one point, they [illegal project owners] would argue that they have sold out plots in the fair and thus they cannot withdraw,” she added.
The owners have undertaken their illegal land projects in violation of town improvement act, master plan of Dhaka, environment conservation act and private housing development rules.
Officials of Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (Rehab), which had organised the fair, gave Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) the responsibility of preventing the illegal projects from the fair.
The High Court earlier declared at least 68 land projects in and around the capital city illegal.
As per Private Housing Land Development Rules of 2004, advertisement and sale of unapproved housing projects is illegal.
Private Housing Development and Management Law, 2010 has the provision of offering punishment of two years imprisonment to law-breakers or a fine of Tk10 lakh or both for their offences.
The other companies, whose registrations were suspended, are Well Care Consortium Ltd, Sabuj Chhaya Abashan Ltd, Tanshir Properties Ltd, Uttoron Properties Ltd, Nasim Group, Glorious Lands Development Ltd, Inspired Development Ltd, Atlantic Properties Ltd, Dakkhina Real Estate Ltd, Invite Properties Ltd and Bangladesh Development Company Ltd.
Ideal Real Estate Ltd, New Dhaka Alliance Ltd, Al Warish Properties Ltd, Actual Lands Development Ltd, Garden Homes and Development Ltd, Vision 21 Design and Development Ltd, Innovative Holdings Ltd, Inspired Development Ltd (Probashi Polli), Dhanshiri (BD) Ltd, AG Properties Ltd, Yes Group are the other companies that were served with notices by Rajuk.
The five-day fair of Rehab will end today.
Courtesy of The Daily Star
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]]>The bench of Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury and Justice Jahangir Hossain also asked the government stop all activities, including earth filling, of the housing projects that are not authorised by Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha. Observing that the unauthorised housing projects are causing enormous sufferings to the people and are damaging the environment and the ecology, the court ordered the secretaries to the housing and public works, the land, the environment and forest and the information ministry, the department of environment director general, the Rajuk chairman and the Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh president to take stern legal action immediately against publicity, earth filling and any activities of such housing projects.
Newspapers and the electronic media will have to check the documents of approval of each of the housing projects before running their advertisement, the court said in its verdict in a public interest litigation writ petition filed by green group Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers’ Association, Bangladesh Paribesh Andolan and Save the Environment Movement.
During the hearing in the case, Rajuk informed the court that it had already submitted a list of unauthorised housing projects to the print and electronic media so that the media do not publish their advertisements.
The three green groups on June 16 filed the writ petition seeking a directive on the government to implement the court’s June 8 verdict that had declared illegal 77 housing projects in and around the capital city. After a preliminary hearing on the petition on June 16, the bench of Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury and Justice Gobinda Chandra Tagore asked the Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh not to allow companies having unauthorised housing projects to participate in its fair.
It also issued a rule asking the government to explain why its failure in stopping advertisements and other activities of illegal housing projects should not be declared unlawful and against public interest.
During hearing on the rule, the petitioners’ counsel Iqbal Kabir Liton told the court that the High Court bench of Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury and Justice Gobinda Chandra Tagore on June 8 had directed Rajuk and the police to demolish within 30 days unapproved and unauthorised housing projects in and around Dhaka city.
It also directed the authorities to submit a compliance report to the court within 40 days.
The court issued the directives in its verdict in a public interest litigation writ petition of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers’ Association’s executive director Syeda Rizawana Hasan, seeking directions on the government to stop all activities of unauthorised private housing companies.
The court directed the government to stop the real estate companies from developing land without approval, selling and advertising such plots on web sites, putting up hoardings or any other media in areas covered by the Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan.
The court also directed the government to prevent all unauthorised activities, proposed or being implemented, and to immediately remove all signboards and hoardings of unauthorised realtors and prohibit publication of their advertisements.
The court ordered the authorities to put up visible and legible notices prohibiting in clear terms dirt-filling for selling plots at all such sites.
Referring to the June 8 verdict, Iqbal Kabir on Wednesday argued that no visible actions had yet been taken by the authorities in implementing the High Court directives.
He told the court that many unauthorised private housing companies continued advertising and selling plots or flats in breach of the June 8 judgement.
In many cases, they have violated the Town Improvement Act, the master plan of Dhaka, Environment Conservation Act and private housing rules.
Rajuk’s counsel Maruf Hossain, however, argued that Rajuk had already prepared a list of unauthorised housing projects and supplied it to the newspapers and electronic media so that they could stop advertisement of such projects.
He also mentioned that Rajuk had already demolished the signboards and hoardings of a number of unauthorised housing projects.
REHAB’s counsel Mehedi Hasan argued that the association of the real estate developers had already issued notices asking the owners of unauthorised housing projects to explain their unauthorised activities.
It had also taken initiatives so that no company having unauthorised housing projects could take part in any of its fair.
-With New Age input
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