M.R. Amin, Chattogram

The weak role of the Estate Department of Bangladesh Railway and lack of effective monitoring are causing revenue losses of crores of taka to the Railways.

Various reliable sources concerned claim that the officers and employees of the Estate Department are not performing their duties properly, effective monitoring of property management and timely legal action is not ensured. Bangladesh Railway is facing such revenue losses.

The railways is losing a huge amount of revenue due to lack of timely legal action. The state-owned institution is being deprived of crores of taka in revenue due to the lack of speedy resolution of disputes related to possession, lease and property.

It has been reported that a huge 21.48-acre Jordebati located in Pahartali area owned by Bangladesh Railway has been encroached upon. Multiple reliable sources have confirmed that the railway is losing crores of taka due to the weak role of the estate and legal departments. Those concerned suspect that there is a suspicion of unethical transactions due to the mysterious role of the estate department in occupying the banks and evicting more than a thousand establishments despite not being able to lease the water body due to the legal loophole.

It is learnt that Abdul Latif, who participated in the lease tender held on March 5, 2015, received a license for fish farming as the highest bidder. The Railways appointed the licensee for a total of 21 lakh 81 thousand 400 taka for 5 years for a 21.48 acre water body. The period is considered as the Bengali year from the beginning of 1422 to the end of 1426. That is, from April 14, 2015 to April 13, 2020.

The lease conditions stated that the reservoir could only be used for fish farming, and licensee Abdul Latif had promised not to build any structures in any part of it. The conditions also included not to excavate the soil or divert water for other uses. But for a long time, the encroaching gang has been constructing more than a thousand unbuilt, ready-made and semi-ready structures on the banks of this reservoir, collecting rent regularly by charging interest, and even using the railway's electricity indiscriminately, according to local sources. Although there was a condition not to change the type of land, the structures have now been built in such a way that it would be difficult to recognize them now. The railway has not taken any action regarding these irregularities. Not only that, but even after the lease period ended, the responsible officials of the estate branch have not taken the steps to appoint licensees. As a result, the railway is losing crores of taka.

However, on September 1, 2024, the then Divisional Estate Officer (DEO) Dipankar Tanchangya issued a show cause notice to the previous licensee Abdul Latif. The notice claimed that Abdul Latif was the licensee and said that the said fishery license land has a total outstanding of 52 lakh 6 thousand 70 taka including license fee, VAT and income tax for the fiscal years 1427 to 1430 and the current year 1431. According to Article 50 of the Bangladesh Railway Land Property Management Policy 2020, he wants to know why action will not be taken under the Government Dues Act-1913, including cancellation of the lease license for violating the lease conditions and embezzlement of government funds.

In response to this notice, Abdul Latif wrote, "He has not signed any kind of agreement with Bangladesh Railway regarding the license of the said water body. Despite having no legal document in support of claiming the outstanding money, he has sent a show cause notice based on fictitious information, which is in no way desirable. He said that it is unreasonable to claim government dues by claiming that he is not the licensee of the financial year mentioned in the said notice. As a result, there is no question of breaching the lease conditions or cancelling the lease license as per Article 50 of Bangladesh Railway Land Property Policy-2020 regarding the water body land mentioned in the notice for the financial years 1427 to 1431."

According to multiple local sources, it is believed that some dishonest railway officials are helping in the encroachment through illegal benefits. Sources say that despite not having a lease, the encroachers are embezzling crores of taka from this railway pond every year by selling fish worth several crores of taka. They have also built more than a thousand illegal structures on the banks of the pond. Those concerned believe that it is not possible to occupy such a large amount of land without the cooperation of someone from the railway. If someone does not follow the law, the authorities could have evicted them, but this was not done.

However, sources have confirmed that Abdul Latif, despite claiming not to be a licensee, has filed multiple cases in court, stalling ongoing activities.

Although the railway authorities say that it is not possible to issue a new lease due to the complexity of the case, the lack of action despite the absence of any case regarding the illegal establishment has further deepened suspicion. However, some railway employees, on condition of anonymity, said that those who have occupied it are very influential, and if they try to evict it, they will be attacked. Therefore, no one is taking the risk of eviction. When asked whether the power of the criminal is greater than the law, he did not comment.

When asked about this, Divisional Estate Officer (DEO) Md. Khorshed Alam Chowdhury said, "I recently learned that Amin Kanungo has been instructed to verify the matter and submit a report. Necessary action will be taken after receiving his report."

When asked about this, Al Mahmud, the legal officer of the eastern region of Bangladesh Railway, said, "There are several ongoing cases between Abdul Latif and Railway regarding this pond.

A letter was sent to the panel lawyer on May 8 last year to know the latest status of the cases. However, the latest status of the case is not known yet. I am writing again. Further legal action will be taken soon."