A vested quarter has been construction semi-permanent structures, mostly residential, on arable lands in Gosinga union of Sripur upazila of Gazipur.
The houses, made of tin, wood and bamboo, have been built in the same area through which gas pipelines to Sripur and other areas are supposed to be constructed.
Locals alleged that some powerful people leased the land from farmers and built the houses so that they can materialise a hefty compensation when the government would acquire those land for constructing the pipelines.
The lands in Potka, Hera Potka, Rajabari, Gajaria and Sonakar areas lie submerged in water for half of the year. There is also no industry within eight kilometre. So the initiative to build houses on these fertile lands have been met with skepticism from the locals.
Jalal Uddin Master, on behalf of the group constructing the houses, said they would set up factories there. And the shanties were being built as storage and workers’ accommodation.
However, Saiful Islam, a farmer of Potka village, said Jalal Uddin Master leased the land from him for two years only few days ago. He was told that Jalal Uddin would build houses for accommodation.
Mobarak Hossain of the same village said the same person also took the lease from him for two years for Tk25,000 each year.
Gosinga union’s farmer Sohrab Hossain said he could produce two crops in a year from his land. With a good harvest, he could make about Tk20,000 profit each year.
He added: “I heard gas pipelines will go through my land. But now I have leased it out and houses are being constructed. I don’t understand why.”
A recent visit to the area found a frenzy of activities to build temporary houses. Bamboos, tins, low quality bricks and materials are being used to construct these 10 feet wide and 10 feet high structures.
According to upazila union parishad information, a project titled “Construction of 20”DN x 1000 psig x 30 Km Natural Gas Transmission Pipeline from Sreepur (Gararan) To Joydebpur CGS” was approved by the ECNEC recently.
Since then a number of people have started taking lease of the lands that exactly fall under the project map.
Project Director Abdus Sattar said: “The project was initiated to meet the demand of gas in Gazipur. ECNEC has already approved it. We are aware of the houses being built along the pipeline route.”
He further added that there was no compensation package in the project for affected land owners since the land had no structures on it when the project was approved.
Additional Deputy Commiossioner (revenue) of Gazipur Sebastine Rema said: “After we were informed, we went to document the on going illegal construction on January 6. But our people were injured when Barami union parishad chairman and his people swooped on us.”
The cameras and other devices were also snatched, he added.
Abdur Razzak Bepari, Barami union parishad chairman, however denied the allegation.
Locals said a syndicate, along with the support of government officials, were building the houses so that they can get compensation from the government.
It is a profitable venture since the compensation, depending on the type of structure, is usually higher than the lease amount. When contacted, Nurul Islam, the deputy commissioner of Gazipur said they would investigate the allegations. If the houses were found to be illegal, they would be evicted right away.
