Land acquisition stalls Shariatpur-Chandpur regional highway project

Complications in land acquisition have stalled work on the 31-kilometre four-lane Shariatpur-Chandpur regional highway project, causing suffering to commuters traveling from Chattogram and 21 districts in the South Western region of the country.

The district administration, the implementing body of the project, said a lack of manpower in organisations related to the project has further slowed down the process.

The project involving an estimated cost of Tk859 crore was approved by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) on 12 March 2019. 

The district administration of Shariatpur began the land acquisition process in June 2019, said sources at Shariatpur Roads and Highway Department. 

For the 31-km road, 227 acres of land need to be acquired, and Tk431 crore has been allocated by the Roads and Highway Department for this purpose, including the value of the buildings on the land.

However, over the last four years, only 42.55 acres of land have been acquired for the four and a half kilometers of the road, and the process of acquiring the remaining 184.45 acres of land for the remaining 26 kilometers of the road is still ongoing.

The district administration has spent Tk53.32 crore on land acquisition in the last four years. The remaining Tk377.68 crore is deposited in the account of the deputy commissioner.

The deadline for the project was December 2021 but due to a lack of progress within that period, the deadline was extended by another two years till December 2023.

So far, only 15% work of the project has been completed. 

Three contractors have already left the work as the land has not been acquired and also due to the increase in the price of construction materials.

The carpeting on the road has been completely destroyed. Even there is no brick soling. Innumerable potholes make the vehicle movement slow 

The road is an easy way to bring goods from the three ports – the distance to Chattogram from Bhomra and Penapole land ports is 70 kilometres less on this route. So, drivers and traders chose the route.

But it takes four to five hours to cross the 31km road. Vehicles often get damaged and fuel consumption increases. Besides, due to the slow speed, many vehicles become victims of robberies at night. 

Milon Sheikh, manager of Mir Habibul Alam and Rana Builders contracting company, said, "We got the contract in 2020. If the land was acquired, the work would have been completed by now. Meanwhile, the price of goods has increased a lot. We do not know for how many days we can bear the losses."

Amena Begum, a passenger from Chattogram to Khulna, angrily said that one has to use the road risking one's life. After crossing the ferry, it seems that there is an earthquake. The movement of vehicles is unacceptably slow. It takes four to five hours to cross the one-hour road.

Truck driver Anwar Hossain said the vehicle has to drive slowly due to bad roads. When it rains, it is difficult to know where the holes are. Often the car falls into the ditch and has to wait for days.

Shariatpur RHD Executive Engineer Bhuiyan Redonur Rahman said all the works, including tenders and appointment of contractors, were completed on time. The fund for land acquisition has also been given to the district administration.

"I do not know the reason for the delay," he added.

Shariatpur District Commissioner Parvez Shaman said that land acquisition is not only the work of the district administration alone. Three other organisations are involved with it. Due to lack of manpower in Public Works Department and Forest Department, there is a delay. Besides, the work has progressed slowly due to the lack of surveyors of the district administration. 

He hoped that the land acquisition process will be completed soon, overcoming all hurdles.