Grabbers feast on Gaibandha Zila Parishad land
Construction of houses and shops goes on unabated on the land of Gaibandha Zila Parishad just in front of the parishad office as a section of people have continued illegal occupation of such lands in different upazilas of the district.Photo: STAR
About 650 acres of land belonging to Gaibandha Zila Parishad has remained under unauthorised occupation in different areas of the district. Many of the illegal occupants have constructed shops and residential buildings on the vacant land of zila parishad and the trend to grab fresh areas has continued, said official sources. A good number of shops have been erected in front of the zila parishad office on College Road in the town without any prior permission of the parishad authorities and the occupants have continued grabbing more space, said Kallol Kumar Chakravarti, chief executive officer of Gaibandha Zila Parishad. Meanwhile, the authority cannot remove the illegal structures due to a court injunction. In 1989-90 fiscal year, some influential people took lease of a portion of empty land in front of Gaibandha Zila Parishad office and erected shops there, official sources said. Later the leaseholders constructed permanent structures there as well as on adjacent land. Many others also occupied vacant space in collusion with some dishonest officials. Following a plan to construct multi-storied markets, the zila parishad authority cancelled the lease and issued eviction notice to the occupants in 2005. But the occupants filed a case with the High Court that issued order for status quo on the occupied land. And so, parishad authorities' plan of constructing market stopped for an uncertain period. According to the zila parishad sources, 657 acres of land, including 267 acres in Gaibandha Sadar, 82 acres in Palashbari, 124 acres in Sadullapur, 43 acres in Gobindaganj, 78 acres in Sundarganj and 63 acres in Saghata upazilas are now under illegal occupation. "I have received an eviction notice, as my shop was erected on the land of zila parishad, but the authorities are yet to take initiative to vacate the land," said Hanif Mia of Manmath village in Sundarganj upazila. Two other occupants, Jalaluddin and Sohel Mia of the same village, said they did not occupy any government land forcibly. They claimed that they just erected shops on fallow land and now they are trying to take lease from the authorities after receiving an eviction notice. The illegal occupants in front of the zila parishad office have continued construction work ignoring the status quo order of the High Court, and the authority has filed a case for violation of the order against the occupants, said the chief executive officer of Gaibandha Zila Parishad. "As the occupants did not vacate the space despite issuance of several eviction notices, lists of illegal occupants are being prepared and eviction drive will be launched within next three months," said Syed Shams-ul-Alam Hiru, administrator of the zila parishad.
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