RCC moves to fill govt pond flouting laws
In contradiction to environmental laws, Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) is going to construct a multistoried commercial building by filling up a big pond on government land in Seroil Stationpara area.
The existing environmental laws prohibit such filling up of ponds in Rajshahi city, said Tonmoy Sannyal, coordinator of Rajshahi divisional chapter of Bangladesh Environment Lawyers' Association (Bela).
“Moreover, there is a High Court ruling imposing a status quo on filling up of ponds,” he said.
RCC has decided to construct the commercial building on 1.65 acres of government land in the area. In May, the government agency allocated Tk 4.49 crore to acquire the land, which has a 0.69-acre or two-bigha pond inside it.
If RCC wants to construct the commercial building on the land, it will be required to fill up the pond.
The land acquisition department of Rajshahi Deputy Commissioner's (DC) office is carrying out the acquiring process of the land following request by RCC.
Sonia Binte Labib, an officer for land acquisition at the DC office, said they were acquiring the land under Seroil Kitchen Market Construction Project.
"The pond is 'derelict and unused', as it is not being used by anybody for bathing and washing essentials," she said.
During a recent visit, this correspondent, however, found that many people were using the pond on for their household works.
Around 500 poor families use the pond for household works, said M Noimuddin, a resident in the area.
In official document, the land acquisition department of the DC office showed the pond as 'derelict' and 'unused' to evade the environmental laws, said an official at the department.
RCC also did not mention about the pond in its official document although the land records of the site confirm it as a pond, said an official at RCC.
Talking to The Daily Star, RCC Chief Engineer Ashraful Haque admitted that there was a pond although the RCC records did not mention about it.
“We are not going to fill up the pond. Rather we will protect it from illegal grabbers and encroachers. We will preserve the pond by constructing retaining wall around it,” he said.
In May, the RCC authorities allocated Tk 4.49 crore for acquiring the 1.65-acre government land under the Tk 52.34 crore project of Water Supply, Drainage, and Infrastructural Development of Rajshahi city.
The RCC chief engineer said the land would be given to a developer for constructing the multistoried building under Seroil Kitchen Market Construction Project. The building will house the kitchen market, he added.
The decisions of acquiring the land and constructing the building were taken in 2010, and the construction of the building is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2013, said sources at RCC.
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