Private housing projects, which have no approval from the Khulna Development Authority (KDA), have taken over the Khulna metropolitan and its adjacent areas.
About 50 companies have put up signboards in various areas under the KDA master plan and have been attracting buyers to buy their plots.
Experts opined that such unplanned development could cause serious harm to the environment if not checked right now.
Professor Dilip Dutta of Environmental Science Department of Khulna University said: “The projects developed on low-lying lands without proper survey and method not only pose risks for the residents but also to the environment. Filling up waterbodies can also cause long-term waterlogging.”
According to the KDA officials, the master plan for the development of Khulna city includes the city corporation area and stretches to Nowapara municipality to the north, Katakhali of Fakirhat upazila to the south, Rupsha upazila to the east and Keya bazar area of Dumuria upazila to the west. Any development within this area must take approval from KDA.
However, many companies have already bought up land in those areas and started selling plots under various housing schemes.
Some of the projects are Hanif Mohammad Housing project, Khanjahan Nagar Housing project, Arafat Housing, Madaninagar, Rajdip, National, Mohanagar, Arpita, Madani Society, Ashiknagar, South Bangla, Shanta Neer Holding Real Estate and Jubok Housing Real Estate etc.
These projects are offering plots of various sizes with promise of good infrastructure, utilities and security. However, a recent visit to some of these projects found complete disregard to regulations and promises.
Assistant Town Planner of KDA Md Tanvir Ahmed said according to the real estate development and management act of 2010, any housing project would require registration of the project owner and consultants. Trade license, tax identification number and value added tax registration numbers are also required for approval.
Moreover, each project should have minimum 10 acres of land with 40-60 feet-wide main roads and 25 feet-wide inner roads. The residential projects should also have school, college, playing field, community centre, markets, police station and other civic facilities.
But projects such as Kader Housing at Khulna’s zero point, Mohanagar project at Batiaghata and Madaninagar project had only 5-6 acres of land for their projects. The roads and infrastructure were also not up to the requirement.
Hanif Uddin, owner of Hanif Mohammad Housing project, said many projects started off with small area of land but would expand gradually. He, however, admitted that no project in the area had permission from KDA.
Arafat Housing project’s owner Arifur Rahman claimed that his project fulfilled all the KDA requirement. “When I took up the project, there was no master plan of KDA. So there was no need for approval. But as per the new law, the project would be registered very soon.”
Despite having no registration and approval, many of these projects have been drawing a good number of customers.
Erin Sultana of Khulna metropolitan bought two plots at Shopnopuri Housing project. She already built a two-storey house on one of the plots.
When asked about buying plots from unapproved companies, Erin said she did not know whether the project had government approval. “I have my building plan approved from KDA. If the project was illegal, why did they approve my five-storey building plan then?” she said.
Sarwar Khan, another plot owner at Arafat Housing project, said the project was the oldest one in the area. “My father bought the plot 20 years ago. I had to go through legal hurdles to get it in my name.”
He further added that many plot owners were forced to spare a portion of their land for the roads of the project. Also many projects did not even have electricity connection let alone other facilities.
Sheikh Ashrafuzzaman, president of Greater Khulna Development Shongram Shomonnoy Committee, said the fault was not only with the corrupt project owners. “A group of unscrupulous KDA officials were also involved. Otherwise, it would not be possible for these projects to do open marketing and sell plots.”
He reiterated that all projects should follow the law and urged the KDA authority to look into the matter and take measures against the corrupt officials.
KDA engineer, Kazi Md Sabirul Islam, confirmed that no projects within the radius of the master plan had permission. “Some companies have applied for approval. We may consider their application if the projects meet the requirement.”
He added that KDA was pledge-bound to make Khulna a planned city and had taken extensive plans to promote the master plan and the laws regarding private housing development.
Chief Engineer of KDA, ATM Wahid Azhar, said they would soon launch a campaign to make people aware about buying plots from unapproved companies.
“People would face legal complications to build structure on illegal plots. So we will publish notices in the newspapers and take other measures to create public awareness. We will also take proper action against the illegal projects,” he added.
