BRAC’s boundary wall blocks farmers’ dreams
A non-government development organisation, BRAC, has erected a boundary wall around land owned by local farmers in Mashuri village of Rupganj upazila in Narayanganj.
As a result of the wall, the farmers are unable to access their own land, bringing their hopes of farming there to a halt.
The problem began over 115 decimals of land under RS Dag Nos. 160 and 161 in Mashuri Mouza of Rupganj Sadar Union.
The legal owners of the land are Nityananda Sarker, Binanda Sarker, Narendra Sarker, Satyaranjan Sarker, Manoranjan Sarker and Radhanath Sarker.
According to them, they have owned the land through inheritance since the time of their forefathers.
They have deeds for the property and regularly pay land revenue.
They have been cultivating the land for years.
However, they alleged that BRAC erected the boundary wall without legally purchasing the land from them.
As a result, they can no longer access their own property.
Land belonging to several other neighbouring farmers and a retired military serviceman has also been brought inside BRAC’s boundary.
Not only private land, but also land belonging to a mosque, madrasa and orphanage has been enclosed by the wall.
BRAC, however, claims that everything was done in accordance with the law.
Barred from entering their own land
Local landowners alleged that several hundred bighas of their land in different mouzas have been occupied and enclosed with boundary walls.
As a result, they are facing difficulties in accessing and possessing their own land.
Security guards have been deployed to guard the occupied land.
Since the boundary walls have been constructed and the gates have been locked from the outside, the original owners are unable to enter their own land.
Tapan Sarker owns 40 decimals of land in the area.
He said he faced obstruction when he went to work on his land.
He said, “I have 40 decimals of land here. When we went to work, they obstructed us. We went again to work, and they stopped us again. Later, they started building the wall, and we also tried to stop them. They would not listen.”
Tapan Sarker said BRAC took possession of the land by erecting the wall.
He added that despite attempts to prevent the construction, they could not stop BRAC.
Another local victim alleged against BRAC, saying, “Now we cannot work because they have put up the wall. What can we do? They have taken possession of the land by force.”
Mosque and madrasa land not spared
Local resident Shafiqul Islam said BRAC had also taken possession of land belonging to a mosque and madrasa.
He said, “We used to lease this land. We used the money we received from it to run the mosque and madrasa.”
When BRAC began constructing the boundary wall, Md Bilal, principal of the local madrasa, requested that the wall not be built.
Although some portions were initially left open, the entire area was later enclosed with a wall, leaving it inaccessible.
As a result, the mosque and madrasa authorities can no longer access the land.
Shafiqul Islam said this has put the institutions at risk of financial difficulties in running their activities.
He added that the madrasa principal made several attempts to contact BRAC regarding the matter but received no response.
Police allegedly refuse to accept complaints
The affected landowners said that although they approached law enforcement agencies seeking a remedy, the police did not accept their complaints.
They also alleged that those who tried to enter their own land were instead harassed by police.
One of the victims, Mehedi Hasan, told Asia Post, “Eleven decimals of my land are inside BRAC’s boundary wall. I cannot go to the land even if I want to. I went to the police station to file a written complaint seeking a remedy, but even though I am a former member of the armed forces, I did not get any remedy. BRAC has money and influence. We are ordinary people; we have nothing.”
When contacted about the matter, Rupganj police station Officer-in-Charge A. Aich. M. Salauddin said, “As far as I know, no one has come to file a complaint about such an issue.”
Commission business in land registration
Local resident Muktar Hossain owns more than 10 decimals of land under Dag No. 255 in Rupganj.
He said he was being obstructed even when he went to cultivate his own land.
He also alleged that vegetables he planted were removed the very next day.
Asked who was doing this, Muktar Hossain said, “BRAC people.”
Muktar Hossain also alleged land grabbing and commission-based dealings in land registration.
Asked whether he had reached any financial agreement with BRAC over the land, he said there had been no direct financial transaction with BRAC.
However, he alleged that when landowners went to register their land in favour of BRAC, they had to pay a commission of Tk1.5 lakh per decimal.
He alleged that a BRAC official named Imran was involved in such transactions.
He also said a person named Swapan worked as an intermediary, although he had no direct connection with BRAC.
Muktar Hossain said he had recently been forced to register a portion of his 10.5 decimals of land.
The land did not have updated land revenue records.
The property was registered through Imran, and Imran allegedly took a commission of Tk1.5 lakh per decimal at the time of registration.
When Asia Post contacted Imran regarding the matter, he declined to comment.
He advised the reporter to contact BRAC’s public relations department if there was anything to know about the issue.
Other areas where land occupation is alleged
According to information provided by local residents, BRAC has also been accused of occupying another 150 decimals of local residents’ land under RS Dag No. 97 in Bingram Mouza.
In the same area, BRAC has allegedly taken possession of 75 decimals of land belonging to Sunil Chandra Biswas.
There are also allegations that another 75 decimals of land belonging to a mosque and madrasa have been occupied.
In addition, 12 decimals of land belonging to Mehedi Hasan and Rabby and others are allegedly under BRAC’s possession.
An on-the-spot investigation found evidence supporting the local residents’ allegations that their land in Mashuri village of Rupganj had been occupied.
What BRAC says
Asia Post contacted Golam Kibria, team leader of BRAC’s Media Relations Department, on 29 August to seek its response to the overall matter.
He asked the reporter to send written questions.
However, no response was received even after the questions were sent.
Following several rounds of communication, Asia Post received BRAC’s written statement on Tuesday (8 September).
In the written statement, Golam Kibria told Asia Post, “All BRAC activities are conducted in accordance with the prevailing laws and regulations of the country. In line with this, all assets purchased by BRAC are used for the organisation’s own needs, and the purchases are made following the prevailing laws and procedures of the country.”
He said, “BRAC has valid documents for every piece of land it has purchased. Boundary walls have been erected only on land that has been fully purchased. No work has been carried out on land where the purchase process or negotiations are still underway.”