Purbachal New Town: HC questions Rajuk's 'secret' plot allocation

The High Court yesterday questioned the legality of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkha's (Rajuk) action to create and allocate new plots by changing the layout plan at Purbachal New Town Project.

The court issued a rule asking the government and Rajuk authorities to explain in eight weeks why Rajuk's reported action, ignoring a Supreme Court directive, should not be declared illegal.

The HC bench of Justice FRM Nazmul Ahasan and Justice KM Kamrul Kader came up with the rule following a writ petition filed by Supreme Court lawyer Purnindu Bikash Das to this end.

Advocate Purnindu filed the petition as public interest litigation yesterday, following a report published on the daily Samakal on March 3 under the headline “84 plots allocated secretly”.

The report said Rajuk has created around 100 new plots by changing the layout plan, and ignoring the SC directive. The plots, on 10 bighas of land, have already been allocated secretly to customers, according to the report.

During hearing of the petition, Purnindu told the HC that as per the SC directive, Rajuk cannot change the layout plan and create any new plot at Purbachal New Town Project.

Rajuk has to take the SC's permission to change the layout plan and create any new plot there, he said.

Deputy Attorney General Abdullah Al Mahmud Bashar opposed the petition, saying Rajuk has neither created any new plot nor changed the layout plan in Purbachal.

Some of the plots might have been classified, he argued.

Secretaries to the ministries of housing and public works, land and environment and forests, SC registrar general, Rajuk chairman and editor and reporter concerned of the Samakal have been made respondents to the rule, Advocate Purnindu told The Daily Star.