123 Government Houses Under Occupation
Graphics: Agamir Somoy Generated By AI
On Road 9/A of Dhanmondi, at house number 133 on 20 kathas of land, the ground floor hosts two restaurants named “Indian Spicy Chicken” and “Ohona Dinner.” Next to them are a large motor garage and two shops. The entire second floor is occupied by a large food outlet called “OZZ Café Restaurant.” Although these businesses have been operating for nearly two decades, no legitimate owner can be identified. Restaurant-related staff say they are running their businesses by renting the space from the owners, but none can specify who actually leased it to them. The assistant manager of OZZ Café Restaurant on the second floor said the owner lives abroad and that the business operates under a lease from a person named Jahid. Yet, the property is actually listed as a government gazette-designated abandoned property.
A similar situation exists in two buildings at 14 and 14/A on Road 2 of Dhanmondi. Spread over more than one bigha of land, one of the buildings has a one-storey front and a three-storey rear section. The property is under possession of “Messrs ACM Engineering and Construction Ltd.” following a court writ filed by Mazedul Islam, who has been occupying it and subletting commercial shops for years.
In New Eskaton, a two-storey building on about one bigha of land is occupied on the ground floor through a certificate case by Shomi Kaiser, a member of a martyr’s family and former MP. The upper floor is similarly occupied by another member of a martyr’s family, Dr. Margub Aref Jahangir. Both families reportedly obtained allocations from the government at nominal prices but have kept the properties without paying rent for years. As of November 2024, arrears have reached 1.204 billion taka.
This is not limited to Dhanmondi or New Eskaton. Across Gulshan, Elephant Road, Motijheel, Paltan, Moghbazar, Kakrail, Mohammadpur, and Mirpur, influential individuals have occupied 123 government houses built on 50 bighas of land in key areas of the capital. According to investigations by the Ministry of Housing and Public Works and Agamir Somoy, these properties worth thousands of crores of taka have been illegally occupied by powerful groups, often through political influence or court cases that drag on for years.
When asked, Housing and Public Works Secretary Mohammad Nazrul Islam said on Thursday, “A final review of the list of occupied houses will be conducted, and necessary action will be taken.”
Sources say that although these properties have been identified, the government has effectively lost control over them. Illegal occupiers are managing them in practice. The Abandoned Property Management Board (APMB), responsible for oversight, has shown little urgency. Even when meetings are held, discussions rarely include illegally occupied properties, focusing instead on government-controlled assets.
Although the Public Works Maintenance Department has repeatedly issued letters urging eviction drives, the board has largely ignored them, allegedly due to pressure from influential occupants.
APMB Chairman and Dhaka Divisional Commissioner Sharf Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury recently said, “We are unable to conduct eviction drives due to a shortage of manpower. Those who were available have been posted as upazila nirbahi officers in various sub-districts.”
Government records show that among the 123 uncontrollably occupied houses are several notable cases. In Gulshan, house number 29 on Road 103/104—on about 1.5 bighas of land is occupied by businessman and former Awami League MP Salam Murshedy. In Motijheel’s commercial area, house number 60 on an eight-katha plot is occupied for years without rent by the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), with arrears of 2.9 billion taka.
In Kotwali, a nearly five-katha property is occupied by the office of Ward Commissioner-36 of Dhaka South City Corporation. In Gulshan-2, house number 15 on Road 126/127 is occupied by an Ansar camp.
Other cases include illegal occupation by general insurance authorities in multiple high-value properties, including a 18-storey building in Purana Paltan, a 25-storey building on RK Mission Road, and several residential buildings and flats in Tejkunipara, Mymensingh Road, Dilu Road, and Mohammadpur. In some cases, government hospital staff are residing in these properties.
Officials say that beyond political pressure, administrative negligence and misconduct by some government employees have contributed to the widespread loss of control over these properties. In many eviction-related cases filed by the government, court verdicts have gone in favor of the occupiers due to weak legal handling.
According to the Ministry of Housing and Public Works, there are 6,538 gazette-listed abandoned government houses in Dhaka. Among them, 1,018 have been released from abandoned status. At least 1,500 properties have been leased or rented to individuals and institutions. There are 4,358 ongoing cases in the High Court, 250 cases in the Court of Settlement, and 412 rent-related cases.
In a parliamentary session on July 14, 2017, then Housing and Public Works Minister Engineer Mosharraf Hossain stated that 278 government houses under the Public Works Department and APMB were under illegal occupation, including 124 under the Public Works Department and 154 under APMB.
