The administration has explained to a BNP leader the occupation of two sand pits of Jadukata river in Sunamganj for extracting sand without a tender. The possession of this Balumhal, the largest in the district, was explained to him on Monday afternoon by showing 'damaged' by the special order of the Ministry of Lands.
That BNP leader's name is Nashir Mia. He is the General Secretary of South Baradal Union BNP of Tahirpur Upazila. He is known as a close friend of Sunamganj-1 Constituency BNP Member of Parliament Kamruzzaman Kamrul.
According to the order of the Ministry of Lands, Nashir Mia, a resident of Holhalia village of Tahirpur upazila, former lessee of Jadukata-2 balumhal, will extract sand from two mahals of the river till April 13, 2027.
Sunamganj Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Tapas Sheel confirmed the matter. He told Prothom Alo, "It was under the guidance of the Ministry of Lands that Nashir Mia was informed of the occupation." When asked whether there was any violation of the law, he said, "The Ministry of Lands is our highest authority." What we have done, we have done under the guidance of the ministry.
However, a former lessee of the palace commented that it was not appropriate to allow anyone to extract sand with a special order from the ministry. He said that according to the rules, the District Balumhal Management Committee will issue the lease through public tenders or arrange for collection of khas. In this case it did not.
1 and Yadukata-2 Balumhal 1432 Bangla Son were leased from the district administration for Tk 108 crore by Shah Rubel Ahmad, owner of Jinan Enterprises and Nashir Mia, owner of M/s Tahiya Stone Crusher. Due to litigation complications, they got possession of the palaces after five months.
After that, before the end of 1432 Bengali year, the two petitioned the High Court for permission to extract sand for another five months, claiming that they were injured. The court ordered in their favor. The district administration appealed against the order. After the hearing of the appeal on September 13, the petitioners were ordered not to suffer.
After that, the district administration issued a notification announcing the closure of sand extraction in both palaces.
Later, the district administration took the initiative to hire lease for the remaining period of the current 1433 Bengali year. For this, a meeting of the District Balumhal Management Committee was called on September 17, but later it was postponed. Both the lessees have sought permission from the Ministry of Lands to extract sand for the rest of the period.
On September 22, the Ministry of Lands in an order allowed only Nashir Miah to extract sand from the two Mahals. In this, sand mining is said to be fixed at an additional rate of 12 percent over the average market price of the last three years. The revenue of the two Mahals for the remaining period is fixed at Tk 42 crore 66 lakh 36 thousand 422.
Shah Rubel Ahmad filed a writ in the High Court on September 29, claiming that he was aggrieved. The court suspended the land ministry's order for three months. Later, when the matter was settled between the two parties, the writ petition was withdrawn.
Then on October 15, Ratan Mia, another former lessee of the Mahal, filed a writ in the High Court on the same issue. Its effectiveness was suspended last Sunday. After that, under the direction of the Ministry of Lands, the administration explained the possession of the two Balumhals to Nashir Mia yesterday.
