The government has decided to allocate a plot with a house in the capital’s posh Gulshan area to Sheikh Rehana, the only sister of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, a minister said.
Housing and Public Works Minister Mosharraf Hossain said the government has designated a house for Rehana following a High Court directive under “The Father of the Nation’s Family Members Safety Act, 2009.” Rehana is the younger daughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Rehana was given a house in Dhanmondi during Awami League’s 1996-2001 tenure. But the BNP-led government that took over in 2001 cancelled the allotment and moved the Dhanmondi police station there.
Rehana challenged the cancellation in court. In a ruling in 2009, after AL returned to power, the court directed the government to give her a house again. However, Rehana decided not to keep the Dhanmondi house.
“She is being rewarded for her sacrifice by not taking back the house in Dhanmondi, which is being used as the police station now,” the minister said.
The new house will be given to Rehana for a token price after completing all procedures, Mosharraf said, adding that Hasina had already approved the proposal.
A ministry official told the Dhaka Tribune that House NIL(2)-10 on Road 84 in Gulshan2 has been chosen for Rehana. The house comes with 54.5 decimals of land.
“Although Rehana did not agree to take the house, the government decided to give it to her considering her security and the future of her family members,” Mosharraf said.
“The house is too old for Rehana’s use. It would need to be demolished and rebuilt. Her family would build the new house after the allotment,” he added.
