Ashiyan City cant sell plots, give ads: SC
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court yesterday issued an injunction halting all activities including selling plots and advertisement of Ashiyan City housing project located in the northern part of capital Dhaka. It also stayed a High Court order that, on August 16, had scrapped an earlier verdict of the court declaring the Ashiyan City housing project illegal. The apex court said its order would remain effective until the disposal of a leave to appeal petition filed by eight rights organisations against the August 16 HC verdict. A five-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice SK Sinha passed the order following a petition filed by eight rights organisations seeking a stay on the HC order.
Syeda Rezwana Hasan, a lawyer for the rights bodies, told reporters that Ashiyan City authorities cannot run any activities of its housing project in Holan and Ashkona of Dhaka following the apex court order. Eight human rights and environmental organisationsAin O Salish Kendra, Association for Land Reforms and Development, Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association, Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust, Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon, Institute of Architects Bangladesh, Nijera Kori, and Paribesh Bachao Andolonhad filed a writ petition with the High Court on December 22, 2012, challenging the legality of Rajuks approval and the clearance given by the Directorate of Environment (DoE).
The petitioners said that the company had violated the Land Holding (Limitation) Order 1972, which does not allow anyone in Bangladesh to hold more than 33 acres of land. The limit is 20 acres in case of agricultural land. But the clearance had been given for their residential project on 43.11 acres of land. It also said that low-lying lands and drainage basins (flood-flow zones) falls within the project, which also have some canals. After brief hearing on the petition, the HC had on January 2, 2013, had stayed all activities, including land filling, issuance of advertisements and selling of plots and issued a rule over the matter. After the final hearing on the rule, in a verdict, the High Court (HC) bench of Justice Syed AB Mahmudul Huq, Justice Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque and Justice ABM Altaf Hossain on January 16, 2014, had declared the project illegal by a majority decision.
The court also stayed Rajuks approval of Ashiyan Citys land development, the clearance certificate issued by the DoE and a ministry order reducing a fine of Tk. 50 lakh imposed on Ashiyan by the DoE for filling a wetland to Tk. 5 lakh. But, in response to a review petition filed by Ashiyan City authorities, the HC bench comprising Justice Syed AB Mahmudul Huq Justice Naima Haider and Justice Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque, on August 16, unanimously set aside the previous judgment.
In its brief order, the HC bench said that the review petition had been allowed and the earlier judgment stood cancelled. Later, the state and rights bodies moved before the apex court against the HC order. After hearing on the leave-to-appeal petitions, the apex court yesterday came up with the order. BELAs counsel Minhazul Haque Chowdhury told reporters that the apex court order means that the land developer has to stop all activities of the project, including selling land plots. The project by Ashiyan Lands Development Ltd is located opposite to Dhakas Shahjalal International Airport and beside the Hajj Camp.
