Ashiyan City promotes land beyond approved area, defying Rajuk orders

Highlights

• After court ruling, Rajuk ordered Ashiyan to stop promotions, sales outside 33 acres
• Despite orders, Ashiyan continues Facebook ads, billboards, banners
• Rajuk warns of fines up to Tk10 lakh, 3 years' jail for illegal ads
• Ashiyan City project has history of legal battles; HC declared it illegal in 2014

Ashiyan Land Development Limited is openly defying Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) by promoting its Ashiyan City project on over a thousand acres of land, despite having approval for only 33 acres, according to the city development regulator. 

In December last year, the Supreme Court allowed the company to operate the project on 33 acres. Following the ruling, Rajuk ordered an immediate halt to all advertisements, sales, and promotions conducted outside the approved area. 

The company was also given an ultimatum to submit all necessary documents to verify project boundaries and obtain proper approval.

On August 17, Rajuk Deputy Town Planner Md Mustafizur Rahman told The Business Standard, "The verdict allows Ashiyan City to operate only within 33 acres. However, our field inspection found that they are occupying and using 60–70 acres. 

"They have been instructed to mark the 33-acre boundary and stay strictly within it. We are reviewing their documents, but there is even doubt whether they will get Rajuk's approval for the full 33 acres."

Earlier on 4 August, Rajuk issued a notice stating that the Ashiyan City project in Dakshinkhan, Dhaka, has not received Rajuk's approval. Sales are still being promoted through billboards, signboards, online platforms, and other means, which is illegal. 

The notice, signed by Md Mustafizur Rahman, cited the Private Residential Land Development Rules (2004, amended 2011 & 2015) and the Real Estate Development and Management Act, 2010, stating that unauthorised selling or advertising can result in fines of at least Tk10 lakh, up to three years in prison, or both.

The notice warned that if illegal activities continue and required documents are not submitted on time, Rajuk will take legal action, including shutting down all advertisements, imposing fines, and applying other penalties. 

Approval for the project will only be granted after meeting all conditions under the Natural Water Reservoir Conservation Act 2000, the Real Estate Development and Management Act 2010, and the Private Residential Land Development Rules 2004 (amended). No sales, promotions, or development can occur before approval.

Shafiqul Islam Shawon, head of media at Ashiyan Land Development Limited, told TBS, "We are working strictly within the 33 acres approved by the court. Following Rajuk's order, we have stopped all advertisements outside this approved area. 

However, our project covers nearly 1,000 acres in total. We are gradually buying land and adding it to the project. We have also replied to Rajuk's notice."

Md Mustafizur Rahman, however, said Rajuk has not yet received any response from Ashiyan to the notice.

Despite Rajuk's instructions, the project has largely ignored the orders. On 14 August, an advertisement for plot sales was posted on Ashiyan City's official Facebook page. Billboards, banners, and signboards still surround the project area. 

Shafiqul Islam defended the posts, saying, "Posting on our own Facebook page is allowed — we are not boosting these posts. The billboards are only on land we already own and simply state that Ashiyan City owns these plots. Gradually, we will bring these areas into the main project."

Ashiyan Land Development Limited began selling plots in its Ashiyan City project in 2006, covering Uttarkhan, Dakshinkhan, Barua, and Dumni mouzas in Dhaka. 

The project initially received approval from Rajuk and the Dhaka district administration in 2005 to develop 43 acres. Later, Ashiyan expanded the land to 1,197 acres — nearly 30 times the original size—and obtained approval using political influence.

On 22 December 2012, eight environmental and human rights organisations, including Ain O Salish Kendra, filed a writ petition with the High Court seeking a ban on Ashiyan City's activities. 

The High Court issued an interim injunction and, in January 2014, declared the project illegal. A larger High Court bench later reviewed the case, and in August 2016, the apex court quashed the earlier High Court order.

When the petitioning organisations filed a leave to appeal, the Appellate Division stayed the larger bench's order on 7 August 2017. On 22 November 2023, the Appellate Division annulled the High Court verdict by granting a review petition, with the ruling delivered by a six-member bench led by Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan. 

Later, on 5 December 2024, the Supreme Court upheld the decision, allowing the Ashiyan City project to operate on 33 acres in Uttara and near Dhaka airport.

According to sources and media reports, Nazrul Islam Bhuiyan, managing director of Ashiyan Land Development Limited, has long been running his real estate business in defiance of the law and Rajuk regulations. 

He faces at least 12 murder cases related to the July uprising, filed at Khilkhet, Uttara, and Vatara police stations. There are also allegations of bail forgery against him, and he currently remains a fugitive.