Begunbari-Hatirjheel Plots
HC asks ACC to probe allotment process
The High Court yesterday directed the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to immediately launch a thorough investigation to find out whether there was any corruption in the process of allotting plots in the capital's Begunbari-Hatirjheel area.
Calling the people involved in allotting and purchasing lands ignoring the due process as "thieves", an HC bench ordered the ACC director general to submit the probe report to it by July 15.
Hearing a rule, it ordered the cabinet secretary to form a high profile committee to find out which processes were followed during the distribution of plots in the area.
The committee will comprise LGRD Secretary Abu Alam Shahid Khan, Law Secretary Ashish Ranjan Das, Economic Relations Division Secretary Iqbal Mahmud and Nazimuddin Chowdhury, joint secretary to the ministry of home affairs.
It will submit the report to the court by July 15.
An HC bench ordered the secretary to the ministry of housing and public affairs to submit a list of the people, who have been allotted plots, and to inform it by July 15 if his ministry had taken the opinion from the ministry of environment and forest during the allotments.
Journalist Shafik Rehman, former BNP state ministers Ziaul Haque Zia and Kamrul Islam, and Ziaul Haque's son Joy, who had received plots near Begunbari-Hatirjheel area, were present in court during the hearing as per its earlier summons orders.
The bench of Justice AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury Manik and Justice Jahangir Hossain Selim ordered Ziaul Haque Zia, Kamrul Islam and Shafik Rehman to submit separate reports before it by July 15, mentioning the total number of plots that they and their family members have in Dhaka and the manner of receiving those plots.
Following a report published in the daily Samakal on March 24, 2010, the HC bench on May 9 issued a rule upon the authorities concerned to explain why the allocation of the plots should not be cancelled.
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