The government has decided to convert the two-lane Dhaka-Sylhet highway into a four-lane one. Under this widening project, the land on the two sides of the highway will be acquired along a 12-kilometre stretch under the district.

In a bid to get fat compensation, local touts, with the help of landowners, have started constructing hundreds of illegal establishments on the land adjacent to the highway. Hundreds of illegal establishments have already been built on both sides of the highway to get hefty compensation for the land acquisition for the project. These installations are being constructed for houses, markets, and industrial establishments.

For the last five to six months, the work of constructing these illegal multi-storeyed buildings has been underway. Despite the ban of the local administration and road authorities, a number of buildings are under construction. Ruling party leaders, public representatives, businessmen, and local influential people are directly and indirectly involved in erecting these structures.

According to the findings, at the time of land acquisition, the compensation used to be paid at the rate of three and a half times the original rate, but now it will be paid three times the rate.

Landowners are strategically setting up these establishments to get extra money from the government in the process.

These buildings are being constructed without any government approval. Locals say some influential people are directly involved with a section of unscrupulous employees of the roads and highway department in erecting these structures.

The roads and highways department says the project was approved at the ECNEC in September last year. The work is expected to begin this fiscal year.

Last week, local journalists found that hundreds of illegal structures had come up at various places along the highway from Madhabdi to Morzine Bus Station. One of them, a building being constructed at a distance of just 5 metres from the highway, was in the Chaitanya area of Shibpur. The third floor of the building was under construction. Doors and windows were installed in the middle of the third floor wall, but the inside was empty.  About 20 workers were found to be working there. But they refused to speak to reporters.

Some local residents said that these buildings had been under construction for the last three to four months. "These buildings are being constructed only in the hope of getting additional compensation during the highway land acquisition. It will cost the government extra money while acquiring the highway land. The owners of the actual land get a certain commission," said one of them.

Executive Engineer of the roads and highways department, Mofazzal Haider, said a letter had been issued to the land owners of three buildings, along with a warning notification campaign, to stop their construction. Also, a video recording of the situation along the highway was sent to the project manager's office.

Deputy commissioner Syeda Farhana Kawnain said the current situation had been reported to the higher authorities. "The approval of the building is given to us by the municipality and the upazila council. At the last development coordination meeting, I stated that municipalities and upazila parishad must arrange for removal of buildings without approval," she added.