Government Land Grab Runs Rampant in Narayanganj as RHD Turns a Blind Eye
Illegal occupation of government land along roads and highways continues in Narayanganj amid the silence of the Roads and Highways Department (RHD). Encroachers are occupying roadside land and setting up businesses at will. Even after eviction drives, they reclaim the cleared land and rebuild illegal structures. Local residents allege that some RHD officials are indirectly supporting the encroachers.
At the Signboard area of the Dhaka-Chattogram highway, influential local land grabbers are allegedly filling land under the cover of darkness, defying High Court orders to maintain the status quo and prohibiting such activities. They continue the illegal filling despite local objections and legal restrictions.
In 2024, Nurul Azim, on behalf of the Bangladesh Press and Human Rights Society, filed a public interest writ petition (No. 2579) with the High Court, seeking the closure of a waste dumping site, removal of waste from a canal and restoration of the RHD drainage canal.
Following the petition, the High Court prohibited waste dumping and illegal land filling in the canal beside the highway, from Parijat City near Signboard to the Baghdad Textile Mills area. A bench comprising Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam and Justice Atabullah directed eight authorities, including the RHD, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the mayor of Narayanganj City Corporation and the deputy commissioner of Narayanganj, to arrange the removal of all dumped waste within 15 days of receiving the order.
The court also directed the relevant authorities to take necessary steps to protect the government land.
A visit to the area revealed that a local syndicate allegedly involving Yasin of Giridhara, Mohammad Ali Khan of Dogair and Bacchu of Dogair was dumping truckloads of sand and construction debris at night to fill highway land. The group was also allegedly occupying the property by parking buses and trucks belonging to various companies and conducting business there.
Local residents said the alleged encroachers verbally abused and intimidated them when they tried to intervene. They also openly declared that they would continue their activities despite the High Court order.
Yasin and Mohammad Ali Khan claimed they were occupying the RHD canal without hindrance and that nobody could stop them.
Nurul Azim said he had submitted an application to the executive engineer of the RHD’s Shimrail office on January 29, attaching the High Court order and seeking action against the illegal occupation and land filling. However, he had yet to see any implementation of the order.
He said the illegal filling had blocked a canal that once served as a clear drainage channel, causing waterlogging and disrupting residents’ daily lives. Delayed action could also force the government to spend substantially more to recover the land later.
Local residents called for the immediate arrest of the alleged encroachers and strong administrative action to recover the government property.
Contacted on Tuesday, Mohammad Monirul Alam, sub-divisional engineer of the Narayanganj RHD, told Daily Inqilab that he had recently joined the post and was looking into the allegations. He said he would discuss the matter with senior officials before deciding on further action.
