Secretariat to move from Gani Road as courts set to take over

Narrow, winding alleys and severe space shortages. More than 50,000 people gather there every day. There are no adequate seating arrangements or necessary facilities. From litigants to lawyers, everyone struggles to navigate the situation. This is the picture of the court area in Old Dhaka, home to the lower courts, also known as subordinate courts. To address this long-standing crisis, the government is now planning a major step that would change the locations of both the administrative center and the district courts.

The government is planning to relocate the lower courts to the current Secretariat premises on Nawab Abdul Gani Road in the capital. Meanwhile, the old trade fairgrounds in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in Dhaka have been proposed as the new location for the Secretariat.

The Public Works Department under the Ministry of Housing and Public Works has already prepared a layout for the infrastructure of the proposed new Secretariat buildings to implement the plan.

The project is estimated to cost Tk 34.09 billion. It is proposed to be implemented from November this year to December 2029. After reviewing the layout showing the locations of the buildings, the head of the current government selected the proposed design and instructed officials to prioritize its inclusion in the green pages of the Annual Development Programme (ADP). Several officials who attended the relevant interministerial meeting shared this information with Agamir Somoy.

An interministerial meeting was held in late August to discuss relocating the lower courts to the current Secretariat premises on Abdul Gani Road. Several other meetings have also been held with the departments involved in implementation. As part of this process, the latest meeting took place last Thursday with officials responsible for the layout at the Ministry of Housing and Public Works.

An official who attended the interministerial meeting said the government had planned to move the court buildings from Old Dhaka to the current Secretariat compound. To facilitate this, the country’s top policymakers considered relocating the Secretariat to Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the capital to be the most suitable option.

The government therefore instructed officials to prepare a layout of the entire area, including the locations of the buildings, as a priority. Subsequently, the Public Works Department prepared a layout for various Secretariat buildings on 24 acres of land at the old trade fairgrounds in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar. The head of the government reportedly expressed strong approval of the layout. Given the project’s importance, officials have been urged to include it in the green book of the current year’s ADP.

Another official who attended the meeting said the Ministry of Planning, the Ministry of Housing and Public Works and the Ministry of Law had become active following the head of government’s instructions. At the government’s initiative, the project is expected to be presented soon at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC). If approved, the project will be implemented as planned.

Officials at the Public Works Department said all relevant information and explanations concerning the project had already been submitted to the Ministry of Housing and Public Works. The ministry’s Planning and Development Wing 3 forwarded the documents to the Planning Commission last Thursday.

The letter was issued under reference number 25.00.0000.000.135.14.0021.26/335 and dated October 8, 2026. It was signed by Rubaiet Hayat Shiplu, Deputy Secretary and alternate officer of Planning and Development Wing 3 at the Ministry of Housing and Public Works.

Letters on the matter were sent to the Member (Senior Secretary) of the Planning Commission’s Physical Infrastructure Division and the Member (Secretary) of its Programming Division.

The subject of the letter was the inclusion of the project proposed by the Public Works Department, titled “Establishment of Bangladesh Secretariat in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka,” in the list of unapproved new projects under the ADP for the 2026 to 2027 fiscal year.

The letter referred to memorandum number 25.36.0000.310.14.001.18/2182, which was received from the Public Works Department on October 8, 2025.

The letter sent to the Planning Commission stated that the project proposed by the Public Works Department could not be processed because it had not been included in the list of unapproved new projects under the ADP for the 2026 to 2027 fiscal year. Therefore, the project needs to be included in that list.

The project is estimated to cost Tk 34.09 billion and is proposed to be implemented from November 2026 to December 2029. A summary from the interministerial programming committee, along with a proposal requesting the necessary steps to include the project in the list of unapproved new projects under the ADP for the current 2026 to 2027 fiscal year, has also been sent to the Planning Commission.

An investigation found that the court area in Old Dhaka has 118 courts. Around 450,000 criminal cases and 150,000 civil cases are pending before these courts.

Under normal circumstances, more than 50,000 litigants visit the court area every day when the courts are in session. There are not enough separate courtrooms for all the courts. Some courts share courtrooms to conduct hearings.

Facilities for case management, including record offices, copy sections and record rooms, are also inadequate. There are few arrangements for litigants to sit or rest. The court premises also lack adequate supplies of safe drinking water for lawyers and litigants.

There are also insufficient and suitable toilet facilities. The buildings do not have enough elevators, and there is no designated parking area.

Anwar Zahid Bhuiyan, president of the Dhaka Bar Association, told Agamir Somoy on Saturday, “Many facilities cannot be accommodated in Old Dhaka because the courts are located in an extremely confined area. It would be better if they were moved to the Secretariat or another spacious location. Relocating them would bring many benefits. I was pleased to hear the news of the proposed relocation.”

Kazi Haider Ali, a litigant at the lower courts, said people face endless difficulties in the court area. Although lawyers have seating arrangements in the courtrooms, there are no places for litigants to sit. As a result, they have to sit in the court corridors for hours.

He said there had been many days when he could not sit down even once throughout the day and had to remain standing because of the lack of space.

Agamir Somoy contacted Public Works Department Chief Engineer Khalequzzaman Chowdhury by phone for his comments on the matter. However, he declined to comment.

Agamir Somoy subsequently tried to contact State Minister for Planning Md. Jonaid Abdur Rahim Saki. However, when he was called on Saturday night, he disconnected the call. A message explaining the reason for the call was later sent to him via WhatsApp, but no response was received.