Govt has no plan to build any establishment in Korail slum: Taiyeb

Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, Chief Adviser's Special Assistant of the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology, today (26 November) has said that the government has no plan to construct any establishment in the city's Korail slum. 

"An unexpected proposal over the construction of a high-tech park in Korail slum has come to our attention. We call upon private entrepreneurs in the software sector to refrain from making such irresponsible statements when hundreds of people are helpless and homeless. Almas Kabir has been making such proposals verbally and in writing. Due to valid reasons, the government has not taken his proposal into consideration," he wrote in a post shared on his Facebook account today.

Currently, Taiyeb said, the government has no plan to build any kind of establishment in the Korail slum.

About 43 acres land of Korail slum belongs to Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority, and the authority has never taken the land under its possession, he said. 

In the past, he said, the land was owned by T&T (now BTCL), while there is a case in court, and since the case has not been settled, the ICT division has not even tried to take possession of it.

"You know, there was a software park in Janata Tower in Karwan Bazar where about 100 of IT companies rented floor space, mainly running IT offices (there were also some companies beyond political considerations). But the condition of the building was so vulnerable that it needed urgent repairs, so the software companies had to be moved out and start repair work. At that time, there was no initiative to find a long-term alternative for the software industry," the statement read.

The special assistant said the government is constructing a new building to set up a software park in Karwan Bazar.

In the late previous year, the issue of setting up a software park building in a small part of this huge plot, Banani Corner, where there is no slum, was raised, he said. 

"In this context, we spoke to some human rights activists. As per their advice, the ICT division refrains from planning to build any kind of infrastructure in the Korail slum.

"We want to make it clear that we currently have no plan to build any kind of establishment in Korail slum," he continued.

Rather, Taiyeb said, the ICT division has sent separate letters to the Public Works Department and Rajuk requesting those to provide land in Agargaon or Purbachal or other areas of Dhaka for setting up a software park. 

"If office space is created for software companies, they will play a role in increasing exports in the IT sector. Accordingly, the paperwork is now progressing for allocating a plot in Agargaon in the Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park. A green leaf project is being taken to build the head offices of the software park, Hi-Tech Park and other infrastructure on this plot. The Public Works Department has given positive nod," he said.

"That means, we have no plan to build infrastructure in Korail slum, there is no ongoing project, and there is not even a proposal in the green leaf (project)," the special assistant added.

He urged private entrepreneurs to be aware and careful in making statements, which are not at all related to the government's plan.

"Especially when hundreds of people are in a helpless and unsafe situation due to the fire, I condemn this malicious attempt to embarrass the government by bringing up the ridiculous issue of establishing a high-tech park," the statement said.