Govt cancels allotment for 4,409 ‘influentials’ in Cox’s Bazar’s Khurushkul housing project
A joint survey initially identified 4,409 families from 21 wards in 2011. However, a 2016 review of the list reportedly excluded over 1,000 genuinely needy families, replacing them with individuals linked to the Awami League
The Housing and Public Works Ministry has cancelled the housing allotment list of 4,409 individuals including Awami League leaders and influential locals for the Climate Refugee Rehabilitation Project at Khurushkul, Cox's Bazar.
The executive order, signed yesterday (14 July) by Chief Adviser's Office (CAO) Director Mohammad Mohibul Hasan, cited faulty, biased, and controversial selection under the 2025 beneficiary policy.
Initiated in 2017 on 253 acres near the Bakkhali River, the project encompasses four zones with 129 five-storey buildings offering 4,409 flats to climate-affected families displaced since the 1991 cyclone.
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Built at a state-funded cost of Tk1,800 crore, the first stage delivered 20 buildings and allocated flats to 600 families at nominal fees of Tk1,001 on 23 July 2020.
Some 122 buildings have so far been completed under the project.
Cox's Bazar Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Salahuddin confirmed that the administration had previously flagged selection irregularities, prompting cancellation by the CAO.
A joint survey initially identified 4,409 families from 21 wards in 2011. However, a 2016 review of the list reportedly excluded over 1,000 genuinely needy families, replacing them with individuals linked to the Awami League.
The policy dictates priority for landless poor residents of Ward No 1, yet the list included many politically connected figures including former councillor's relatives, ward and district Awami League-affiliated and BNP-affiliated leaders, and married couples receiving dual allocations.
