Tanguar Haor to be leased for plunder again

If leased in a short time, the vast water body with its rich fish resources and bio-diversity will land in the hands of the lone bidder, a private fishery farm, and open up the scope for plunder as before, the district administration has said in its reply sent on Tuesday. It has sought fresh directives in this regard, sources said.

The 3868 acre haor, the second largest water body, home to 60,000 birds of different species and 140 varieties of sweet water fish, is now being protected by a joint force of BDR, police and Ansar deployed by the Sunamganj district administration as it could not been leased in the last three years.

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This move against its plunder has been lauded by all sections of people, sources there said.

The ministry's letter followed a report by a sub-committee of the Parliamentary Committee on the Environment Ministry, which visited the haor on January 21.

The district administration's letter said there will also be gross irregularities if the haor is leased in a short time and suggested continuation of its protection under the existing system till a permanent arrangement is made for implementation of the Ramsar Programme for its development. The Tanguar Haor was declared a Ramsar site in 2000.

The lone bidder is Inland Fishery Ltd owned by ruling party lawmaker from Sunamgaj-1 Nozir Hossain, who is also the General Secretary of district BNP. Nozir Hossain is the present Managing Director of Inland Fishery.

Sources claimed that the company uses two addressed in its letterhead pad --one showing the address at 86, Indira Road, Dhaka and the other at 14, Tushon, Shulaghar, Sunamganj with the telephone number 02-9133840).

Besides, it is neither a registered farm nor a fishermen's co-operative, the sources claimed.

The Inland Fishery was in possession of the water body earlier as lessee, showing different persons as its managing director.

It leased Tanguar Haor for 1401 Bangla year at Tk 29,47,400 and for 1402 Bangla year at Tk 32,42,184, showing Nanikanta Barman as its Managing Director. From the year 1403 to 1405, it leased the haor by showing Mokbul Hossain (Nozir Hossain's close relative) as its managing director. The lease money was Tk 35,66,402, Tk 43,15,350 and Tk 39,23,045 in the three years. The lease period is counted as per Bangla calender, from Baishakh to Chaitra.

It was widely alleged that the Inland Fishery broke terms and conditions of the lease at times and plundered fish and other resources including trees of some rare species.

On November 2, 1998, the land ministry, which controlled the water body at that time, in a letter cancelled the lease, terming the then lessee "a farm in name only'. Later, in 1999, the ministry cancelled the lease for unauthorized sub-leasing.

Since then the huge water body was left uncared, to be plundered as the government failed to lease it.

After declaration of the haor as a Ramsar site, a body styled Tanguar Haor Management Committee was formed, which floated tender for selecting an investor to implement the Ramsar programme.

Only three proposals were submitted. All these were either by Nozir Hossain or his men, the sources claimed.

This game of floating tender and submitting bids continued till last year, keeping open the scope for plunder by a vested group.

On May 18 last year, the Tanguar Haor Management Committee sent the bid documents to the Environment Ministry without selecting Inland Fishery as the investor. The committee opined that, none of the proposals was acceptable. Things remained undecided.

In November last year, a joint force comprising BDR, police and Ansars was deployed in the vast haor to stop the plunder.

Different quarters lauded the attempt, which angered the looters.

The three-member parliamentary sub-committee comprising Nazimuddin Alam, Hafij Uddin Ahmed and Kolimuddin Ahmed Milon after its visit held a meting with district officials and representatives from different professional groups at Sunamganj Circuit House.

Speakers at the meeting suggested continuation of supervision of the haor by the joint force to protect its resources and the bio-diversity till a permanent arrangement is made to implement the Ramsar programme.

The haor was declared an Ecologically Critical Area (ECA) in 2000. Implementation of the Ramsar project remained uncertain due to the indecision of the policymakers and failure in selecting financial investors.