Land acquisition delays highway project

Issues with land acquisition in Shariatpur have been causing delays to the Shariatpur-Chandpur four-lane highway project for more than a year.

The government undertook the mega project in 2020 and approved 850 crore for the development of the existing Shariatpur-Chandpur Highway to turn it into a four-lane highway.

The highway, if developed, can establish a wide network and direct road connectivity among 21 southwestern districts of the country, which can reduce time and effort in transporting goods to at least three seaports.

The four-lane highway can also ensure easier access from Chattogram to Bhomra and Benapole land ports which would have a huge positive impact on the country’s economy.

However, delays in land acquisition and funding have been holding up the project for more a year, local sources said.

According to the Shariatpur Roads and Highways Department, in the 2020-21 fiscal year, the government took on a master plan for the development of Shariatpur-Chandpur Highway at an estimated cost of Tk 859.43 crore.

Of this, Tk 431 crore was allocated for the acquisition of 95.75 hectares of land, of which Tk 80 crore has already been paid.

The Roads and Highways Department (RHD) has invited tenders for this mega project in four groups. Of these four groups, work orders have been given only to Group 1 and Group 4.

Although they had issued work orders for two groups, the construction work has not yet progressed due to delay in land acquisition.

Mir Habibur Alam, a contractor of Group 4, started the construction work in December last year, but could only progress for just 2 kilometres as issues in land acquisition had halted his firm from progressing further.

Confirming the matter, Shariatpur Branch RHD Deputy Assistant Engineer Mohibullah, said the scenario has been worse for Group 1 as they could not even start their work as no land was acquired for them yet.

Talking to The Business Post, locals blamed several influential people, who own land adjacent to the road, for creating problems regarding the land acquisition.

They also said that these influential people were not cooperating with authorities concerned in acquiring the lands. Many of them have already started building structures on these lands to stop the government acquisition.

Denying the allegations, one such land owner told The Business Post that they did not receive any notice related to the acquisition and therefore started constructing a building on his land for personal use.

He said: “If the authorities had notified me earlier regarding acquiring my land, why would I go against them and waste my money by constructing a building? I have no interest in getting more money than I should from the government.”

According to RHD, 22 proposals were sent to the Deputy Commissioner regarding land acquisition. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, they are yet to investigate the proposals and choose a few to start with.

At the same time, the RHD said funding for the acquisition and construction work is yet to be dispersed as it awaits approval from authorities concerned.

They blamed the Covid-19 induced lockdown to be the reason behind this delay.

Another source from the RHD said if the contractors cannot start the construction by this monsoon season, they would not be able to finish the project by the stipulated time.

Adding to the transportation problems of the locals, the prices of raw materials would be higher and thus the overall budget of the mega project would be affected.

Addressing the issue, Executive Engineer of the Road and Highways Department’s Shariatpur branch, Redwanur Rahman said: “We are not being able to properly continue the construction and land acquisition work for the pandemic and delay in fund disbursement.”

“As soon as the lockdown ends and we get the fund allotment, we will start working on the project in full swing and get it done in no time.”

He further said that the land owners would not get any advantage of this delay as they had recorded the video footage of the adjacent land, which was formerly desolate. Therefore, they will not get any more money from the government.

“We will take this as an offense against the government and punish the people behind this scam,” he added.

Addressing these issues, Deputy Commissioner of Shariatpur, Asmaul Husna Liza, said: “The project is multifaceted and complex. The RHD is simultaneously constructing the highway and acquiring the land needed for the project. We hope that the project would end as per the stipulated time.”