Municipality mayor constructs commercial buildings on govt land

Without any governmental approval, two multi-storied commercial buildings are being constructed along the Dhaka-Rajshahi highway, occupying government land and canals. What's more, the establishments are being built by the mayor of Katakhali municipality, under Rajshahi's Paba upazila. Not approved by any government agency, the buildings aren't part of the municipal body's official activities either. Yet, land officials are stopping short of calling them 'illegal'. "We don't want to call the construction works illegal, as they're being done out of public interest," said Sheikh Ahsan Uddin, Assistant Commissioner (Land) of Paba upazila. However, replying to another question, the AC Land contradicted himself and said the authority has asked the mayor to stop the works and apply for necessary permissions before resuming the works 'legally'. Talking to The Daily Star, mayor Abbas Ali claimed he was constructing the buildings with funds from entrepreneurs to arrange a source of income for the municipality, which will come from shop space rent. He also recounted the story behind the buildings. In February last year, Barind Development Multipurpose Authority (BMDA) dug a 12-km canal from Harian of Paba upazila to Chhotragachha area of Puthia to alleviate waterlogging in the area. The project cost was Tk 17 crore. The canal starts from one side of the Dhaka-Rajshahi highway in Katakhali and flows into the other side crossing the Katakhali Bridge. Meanwhile, works on the two buildings on both sides of the canal started last April. On both sides, RCC pillars have been erected. On the south side of the bridge, a three-story building is constructed over 1,144 sq. ft. area, which will house 21 shop spaces. The other building is being constructed on the north side of the bridge, which will house six more shops. But before all this, prior to starting works on the canal, BMDA evicted some one hundred traders from both sides of the Dhaka-Rajshahi highway. Mayor Abbas Ali said the traders revolted and started protesting the eviction, at which point he had to step in and promise them shop spaces after the canal would be finished. "Now that the canal is complete, they came to me and I had to follow up on my promise," he said. "Local traders are paying for the buildings. Once they're operational, the traders will pay monthly rents to the municipality as well," he said. The AC Land said they have visited the spot after coming to know about the ongoing construction in early September. He said they then sent a letter to BMDA to notify them about the situation and ask whether the construction would affect the canal's flow. A week ago, BMDA replied that the buildings would not affect the canal's water flow as they were being constructed above the canal, the AC Land said. However, in another twist, when contacted, BMDA superintending engineer Nazirul Islam said he doesn't know anything about any such letter. "Any construction on a canal can affect its flow," he said, adding that the markets would generate waste, most of which would get thrown into the canal. BMDA assistant engineer Kamrul Alam said he has visited the spot after receiving the AC Land's letter. "I saw that parts of the buildings' structure were already constructed," he said, adding that the AC Land's office was responsible for protecting the government land, not BMDA. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives has sent a letter to Rajshahi district commissioner in this regard. In the letter, a recently published news report on the issue is cited, with directives to carry out an investigation on it and submit a report on an emergency basis. https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/municipality-mayor-constructs-commercial-buildings-govt-land-2199361