Culture ministry, archaeology department deny involvement in Supreme Court move over Mahasthangarh

The government agencies seek removal of their names from a Supreme Court appeal

Two government agencies have denied any involvement in a petition seeking permission to appeal over construction at the Mahasthangarh archaeological site, despite being listed as petitioners in a Supreme Court filing.

The Ministry of Cultural Affairs and the Department of Archaeology have separately written to the Solicitor Wing, saying they neither authorised nor filed the appeal and asked that their names be removed from the list of petitioners.

The legal dispute has resurfaced after work began on a women's rest facility and ablution space at a local mosque and shrine inside the archaeological zone.

Lawyers representing the original writ petitioners say the project gained momentum after State Minister for Local Government Mir Shahe Alam took office.

According to them, although the proposal initially failed to secure approval from the cultural affairs ministry, the Local Government Division later allocated Tk 7.4 million, and construction work began at the site.

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