REPORTS in a national daily on Tuesday said quoting the Mayor of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) that Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) officials who give permission for construction of illegal buildings on city canals and other public properties will be under the radar of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) from now. They will not be allowed to make the mischief anymore Mayor Atiqul Islam made the vow talking at a webinar organized by Bangladesh Institute of Planners titled ‘Thematic Review on Detailed Area Plan (DAP)’ around Dhaka city. He also said he would take strong action to recover these properties on which people have built illegal structure.
The Mayor wondered how so many buildings were built on land previously marked as city canals and how their owners were able to get RAJUK permission to build illegal houses or other establishments. Atiqul has also said he would see the CS and RS records of the city on which illegal structures were built to verify illegal occupants.
We would say it is not unknown to the city mayor who those people are holding illegal control of canals and public land in the city. They are powerful Ward commissioners, local party men having support of large weaponized Cadres and such other people yielding strong influence on police and local administration. The unveiling stories of Dhaka South MP and land grabbing of his son now held in the custody showed how powerful people take hold of city land and how local people don’t protest as police always protect the criminals. The entire government is built on a pyramid of corruption where muscle power dominates and rule of law has no place.
So any move in the past to stop illegal occupation has always failed because the ruling party, whoever in power, always protected the wrong-doers. The DNCC Mayor is not the first one to say he would reclaim such properties. Dhaka city has lost its long canal network to become over flooded with rain water for lack of quick drainage. The DAP area which was discussed in the webinar was previously earmarked for quick disposal of rain and flood water at Ashulia low lying area is now almost non-existent. Powerful real estate owners defied the laws and have almost totally grabbed the area. We wonder how the Mayor would succeed!
