Govt to reclaim 800 acres

The upazila administration of Ishwardi will soon move to free 800 acres from land-grabbers and hand it over to Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) for building the nuclear power plant in Rooppur.

The land is on the chars of the Padma which has moved two kilometres from the original site of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) in the last five decades. The original site of 262 acres by the Padma was acquired in 1961.

The settlement department has completed a survey of the chars. A new mouja named Roopkonika would be introduced in the area by a gazette notification, Md Rafikul Islam Selim, upazila nirbahi officer of Ishwardi, told The Daily Star.

The upazila administration has already made announcements in the area over loudspeakers asking the illegal occupants to clear the chars for smooth implementation of the project, he added.

The BAEC secretary early last year had written to the deputy commissioner of Pabna, requesting him to free the land for the project.

It would enable the project authorities to build a cooling tower and several safety and security installations, according to BAEC officials.

Top officials of the land and science and technology ministries last year visited the site, around 25km from Pabna town, to see the progress of the scheme.

COMPENSATION FOR PUBLIC LAND?

Land-grabbers have been in possession of the chars for over 30 years. Claiming the ownership of the chars, they are now even demanding compensation for the land.

Visiting the area in early April, this correspondent saw agricultural activities in the chars.

Local resident Rabiul Islam said, "There is a litchi orchard in my four bigha land near the power plant site. I inherited this property from my relatives. The government should pay me compensation for the land if it wants to acquire the land."

Muktar Hossain, a Jubo League leader of Pakshey union, said 273 farmers are the "real owners" of the most of the land. He demanded the government adequately compensate the farmers for their crops and land if it wants to use the land for the power plant.

He claimed of owning over 100 bighas of land there.

Faquque Ahmed, additional deputy commissioner (revenue) of Pabna, said no question of compensation arises as the Padma char is public property.

Shawkat Ali, then assistant commissioner (land) of Ishwardi, in a letter last year gave permission to the project authorities to use the char land.

ABM Ruhul Kuddus, officer in charge of RNPP site office, said although they had the permission to use the land, the occupiers were still there. Illegal occupation of the land is impeding the project's progress, he added.