HC BGMEA verdict
The High Court verdict, that the transfer of land and construction of the15-storey BGMEA building on the Begunbari-Hatirjheel canal is an act of illegality, serves as an indictment of an organisation that is supposed to set examples in propriety The whole process of transfer of government land to a private body and the construction of a high-rise building thereon has been obtained by a process that is clearly reflective of lack of probity. It has, unfortunately, reconfirmed the criticism of our disregard for the rule of law where plutocracy rules the roost.
One wonders how such a deviation could occur in the first place, and how could the BGMEA indulge in such an act.
And as the court has also opined, the construction has been done with the full knowledge of the constructors that they were indulging in a wrongful act, and there is little doubt that a prestigious body like the BGMEA in doing so has lost some of the public goodwill. We ask whether such an act is not demonstrative of lack of internal discipline of the association. Perhaps it was too sure of its political and financial clout.
And involving the two prime ministers with the start and the commissioning of the building was another example impropriety that the association had hoped would sanctify an unlawful act.
RAJUK too has a lot to answer for in this regard. If it has fined the BGMEA for transgressions was it not for it to also ensure that the transgressions were stopped. Does monetary penalisation validate illegality? And did RAJUK object with vigor and enough force to stop the construction? We wonder how such a huge illegal structure could come up without the acquiescence of the powerful in the loop. We hope that the police, as instructed by the court, would get to the bottom of the matter.
We feel that it is a landmark verdict which should embolden the government to go after all such illegal structures and all errant constructors.
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