RAJUK orders owners to remove structures in Modhumoti Model Town

The capital development authority also asks to remove the sand from the area and restore the wetland to its previous condition

The Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha, or RAJUK, has urged plot owners to remove all kinds of structures in Madhumati Model Town, a housing project in Dhaka's Aminbazar.

In addition, the capital development authority asked them to remove the sand from the area, which was developed by filling up a wetland, and restore it to its previous condition.

If not, RAJUK will conduct an operation to evict the structures and restore the project site to its previous condition, the agency said in a public statement on Monday.

The project named Modhumoti Model Town was taken after filling the wetland in Bilamalia and Boliarpur mouzas of Aminbazar, which were identified as flood flow areas in the master plan of RAJUK.

Without registration and approval of the project, Metro Makers & Developers Ltd carried out the sale of the plots by filling sand there, the statement read.

Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association, or BELA, filed a writ petition against the project. After the final hearing of the petition, the Supreme Court’s Appellate Division ruled that the Modhumoti Model Town project was illegal.

At the same time, it was also ordered to restore it to the previous condition by maintaining the flood flow area.

In the detailed area plan of RAJUK, the area is identified as the main watercourse basin or natural water body.

BELA challenged the project in the High Court on Aug 14, 2004 and the court on Jul 27, 2005 declared the project at Aminbazar unauthorised, illegal, and against public interest.