The Dhaka District Administration has leased out 27 acres of Buriganga river foreshore in Postagola for a cantonment defying river laws and High Court (HC) judgment on saving rivers.
Located south of the Buriganga first bridge and north of Shyampur launch terminal, the site is demarcated as river and foreshores with boundary pillars.
Located south of the Buriganga first bridge and north of Shyampur launch terminal, the site is demarcated as river and foreshores with boundary pillars.
A demarcation pillar near the site. The photos were taken recently.
Ironically, the very district administration along with land records department and Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) have recently installed the pillars upon an HC order clearly showing that the area leased out is part of the river.
During a recent visit to the site, The Daily Star correspondent found labourers filling up a large area of the Buriganga foreshore and building a boundary wall.
Foreshore is the area lying between the low-water mark of dry season and high-water mark of monsoon and is vital for a river’s navigability and port activities.The leased out site in Ailbahar mouza is within the 452-acre foreshore limit of Dhaka river port as per the joint survey map prepared by the district administration and BIWTA, said Joint Director of BIWTA Md Saiful Islam.The foreshore area was later extended to 712 acres, he added.Five decades ago, the foreshores were handed over to BIWTA, said Islam, adding that BIWTA has since been the conservator of the channel, foreshores and river ports as per the ordinance, Port Act and Port Rules.“We regularly pay the district administration licence fee for the foreshores but they did not serve any notice before leasing it out to another government organisation,” he added.Four years ago, the HC ordered the district administrations to protect river foreshores including that of the Buriganga with demarcation pillars, tree plantation and walkways.The Dhaka District Administration a decade ago first leased out 25.5 acres of foreshore area to army upon approval from the land ministry’s central land allocation committee.Official sources said BIWTA’s objection to this lease had been ignored.In 2010, it again initiated to lease out 1.5 acres of foreshore of the same site. The process is now near completion.Leasing out and filling up foreshores is a blatant violation of the HC order, said Islam.In February 2003, the cabinet decided not to acquire or lease out the Buriganga foreshores to keep the river’s navigability and natural flow unharmed.The latest move to lease out foreshore of the river also overrules the cabinet decision.The leased out foreshore had been recorded as khas land in CS and SA records but was dubiously recorded as private property in the RS records and city survey.Mohammad Iftekhar Hossain, additional deputy commissioner for land acquisition, at a meeting in early July admitted that the river foreshores were originally khas land.However, when The Daily Star met him at his office, Iftekhar said the foreshore was “private property” in all the land records and that is why they did not notify BIWTA about the acquisition and lease.Asked how they leased out river foreshores, Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Dhaka Shaikh Yusuf Harun said, “Pillars are not the Bible, and most of them have been installed on private land.”“The leased out area is neither a river nor any foreshore,” he claimed.The DC’s claim is puzzling because foreshores are khas land and integral part of the river under the laws.As per the definition given in the port act and rules, the leased out area is part of the foreshores and is part of Dhaka river port as declared in an official gazette.The district administration cannot lease it out for any purpose, said Monowar Hossain, a recently retired BIWTA secretary, adding that in case there was any private property there, it was government’s duty to acquire and hand those over to the port conservator.Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan said his ministry would hold a meeting with the defence ministry on the issue. “Let’s see what we can do. The lease can be cancelled if needed,” he said.The Daily Star on September 10 wrote to the Inter Service Public Relations Directorate inquiring whether the army was planning to set up a cantonment at the site and if so, of what kind and why they required river foreshore.With no response after seven office days, the newspaper contacted ISPR Director Md Shaheenul Islam and he said, “We have forwarded the letter to the army. But they are busy … let’s see … I will enquire about it.”
During a recent visit to the site, The Daily Star correspondent found labourers filling up a large area of the Buriganga foreshore and building a boundary wall.
Foreshore is the area lying between the low-water mark of dry season and high-water mark of monsoon and is vital for a river’s navigability and port activities.The leased out site in Ailbahar mouza is within the 452-acre foreshore limit of Dhaka river port as per the joint survey map prepared by the district administration and BIWTA, said Joint Director of BIWTA Md Saiful Islam.The foreshore area was later extended to 712 acres, he added.Five decades ago, the foreshores were handed over to BIWTA, said Islam, adding that BIWTA has since been the conservator of the channel, foreshores and river ports as per the ordinance, Port Act and Port Rules.“We regularly pay the district administration licence fee for the foreshores but they did not serve any notice before leasing it out to another government organisation,” he added.Four years ago, the HC ordered the district administrations to protect river foreshores including that of the Buriganga with demarcation pillars, tree plantation and walkways.The Dhaka District Administration a decade ago first leased out 25.5 acres of foreshore area to army upon approval from the land ministry’s central land allocation committee.Official sources said BIWTA’s objection to this lease had been ignored.In 2010, it again initiated to lease out 1.5 acres of foreshore of the same site. The process is now near completion.Leasing out and filling up foreshores is a blatant violation of the HC order, said Islam.In February 2003, the cabinet decided not to acquire or lease out the Buriganga foreshores to keep the river’s navigability and natural flow unharmed.The latest move to lease out foreshore of the river also overrules the cabinet decision.The leased out foreshore had been recorded as khas land in CS and SA records but was dubiously recorded as private property in the RS records and city survey.Mohammad Iftekhar Hossain, additional deputy commissioner for land acquisition, at a meeting in early July admitted that the river foreshores were originally khas land.However, when The Daily Star met him at his office, Iftekhar said the foreshore was “private property” in all the land records and that is why they did not notify BIWTA about the acquisition and lease.Asked how they leased out river foreshores, Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Dhaka Shaikh Yusuf Harun said, “Pillars are not the Bible, and most of them have been installed on private land.”“The leased out area is neither a river nor any foreshore,” he claimed.The DC’s claim is puzzling because foreshores are khas land and integral part of the river under the laws.As per the definition given in the port act and rules, the leased out area is part of the foreshores and is part of Dhaka river port as declared in an official gazette.The district administration cannot lease it out for any purpose, said Monowar Hossain, a recently retired BIWTA secretary, adding that in case there was any private property there, it was government’s duty to acquire and hand those over to the port conservator.Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan said his ministry would hold a meeting with the defence ministry on the issue. “Let’s see what we can do. The lease can be cancelled if needed,” he said.The Daily Star on September 10 wrote to the Inter Service Public Relations Directorate inquiring whether the army was planning to set up a cantonment at the site and if so, of what kind and why they required river foreshore.With no response after seven office days, the newspaper contacted ISPR Director Md Shaheenul Islam and he said, “We have forwarded the letter to the army. But they are busy … let’s see … I will enquire about it.”
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