HC orders illegal housing project billboard removal in Purbachal
The High Court has ordered the removal of all billboards for private housing projects constructed without approval around the government housing project in Purbachal on the capital's outskirts.
A High Court bench comprising Justice JBM Hasan and Justice Rajik Al Jalil issued the order on Sunday after hearing a writ petition on the matter. Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) and other concerned parties have been asked to implement the order.
Senior lawyer Advocate Manzil Morshed appeared on behalf of the petitioner in the court.
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He told the media that the government had undertaken the Purbachal Town project comprising land in Dhaka's Purbachal and some parts of Gazipur and Narayanganj districts and allocated land to various individuals.
"After the project initiation, a number of companies started housing project activities in Kaliiganj and Rupganj upazilas in the area and placed billboards even in water bodies to sell plots in different places.
"News reports were published about this. There was no validity of those housing companies and people were being cheated in various ways by them," Morshed said.
Taking the news seriously, Human Rights for Bangladesh filed a writ petition in the public interest.
He added that the High Court, alongside ordering billboard removal, also issued a rule questioning why the inaction of relevant authorities regarding these unauthorised housing developments would not be considered illegal.
Rajuk Chairman Siddikur Rahman Sarkar and Ministry of Housing and Public Works Secretary Md Shahid Ullah Khandaker have been asked to respond to the rule within four weeks.
