More than 1,400 prime residential plots were handed out on purely political grounds across Dhaka over a 15-year spree, while over 1,000 additional allotments in flagship housing developments have now been frozen amidst a sweeping probe into state-level land grabbing.
Details delivered to a parliamentary committee on Sunday revealed that 1,413 plots were distributed on political considerations between 2009 and 2024 across Gulshan, Banani, Uttara, Jhilmil, and Purbachal, with Purbachal taking the lion’s share at 944 properties.
Meanwhile, a further 1,074 plots, 874 in Purbachal New Town and 200 in the Jhilmil Residential Area, have come under intense scrutiny over severe procedural irregularities, prompting the Ministry of Housing and Public Works to freeze all associated files pending legal action.
The revelations were presented during the second meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Housing and Public Works, chaired by Md Rezaul Karim Badsha at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban.
The committee examined the findings of a special inquiry body formed in response to a High Court Division ruling, which reviewed allotment documents under the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk).
Panel members discussed initiating formal prosecution once full investigations confirm the extent to which political favouritism and corrupt practices corrupted the state housing authority’s allocation process.
Alongside the land scandal, the committee evaluated progress on major national infrastructure projects and public works.
The ministry confirmed that work to accelerate the reconstruction of the mausoleums of Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman and former prime minister Khaleda Zia is progressing smoothly, with core structural work expected to finish by December 2026.
The panel instructed officials to urgently complete all pending landscaping and cleaning efforts across the surrounding garden grounds.
Additionally, the ministry outlined a new renewable energy initiative titled Enhancing Clean Energy Access through Rooftop Solar PV in Public Infrastructure, which has been submitted to the Planning Commission for formal approval.
The proposal aims to harvest 360 megawatts of electricity by installing solar panels across government installations, feeding any excess power directly into the national grid.
The committee was also briefed that preparations are currently under way to lay the foundation stone for the new Secretariat complex at Agargaon in Dhaka’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar on 16 December.
State Minister for Housing and Public Works Ahmed Sohel Manzur attended the meeting alongside lawmakers Md Lutfozzaman Babar, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Iqbal, M Manjurul Karim Rony, Md Ruhul Amin, and Md Tajuddin Khan.
