Awami League central office built on a Pakistani citizen's land and encroached street
Since 1981, the currently activities banned Awami League has used the address 23 Bangabandhu Avenue, Gulistan as its central party office. However, the land on which the building stands was originally owned by a Pakistani citizen.
After Bangladesh’s Liberation War, the original owner never returned to the country. Eventually, control of the abandoned property was taken over, and the site was converted into the Awami League’s central headquarters.
According to the report, over the past 45 years the party never paid holding tax or land development tax. It is also alleged that land designated as a city corporation road was incorporated into the party’s headquarters compound.
In February 1981, Sheikh Hasina was elected president of the Awami League during the party’s council session held at Hotel Eden in Gulistan while she was still in India. After returning to Bangladesh on 17 May, party leaders and activists began operating from the abandoned building at 23 Bangabandhu Avenue.
The original four-story building belonged to Mamma Bai Adamjee, a Pakistani national. During the Liberation War, he moved to what was then West Pakistan and never returned after Bangladesh gained independence. As a result, the four-story building on 6.31 decimals of land remained abandoned.
Because land taxes and other dues remained unpaid for years, the government declared the property an “absentee property” and placed it under the control of the Public Works Department (PWD).
Old holding tax records of the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) still reportedly list Mamma Bai Adamjee as the owner.
Until the construction of the current ten-story building, the old four-story structure served as the Awami League’s central office.
Encroachment of Road Land and Construction of 'Joy Market'
In the 1990s, Awami League leaders and activists allegedly initiated efforts to expand the office by occupying adjacent road land. Plot No. 1805, measuring 4.12 decimals, was designated as a city corporation road.
In 1986, the Public Works Department had handed over 1.20 acres of vacant land on Bangabandhu Avenue to the city corporation for parking purposes. According to city survey records:
44 percent of Plot No. 1816 was used to construct Udayan Market.
Plot No. 1805, measuring 4.12 decimals, served as the access road to the market.
In 1996, when Mohammad Hanif, an Awami League leader, was mayor of the then undivided Dhaka City Corporation, party activists allegedly occupied part of the road and a section of the National Anti-Tuberculosis Association of Bangladesh (NATAB) complex and built shops there.
The new market was named 'Joy Market' after Sajeeb Wazed Joy, Sheikh Hasina’s son.
In February 1999, the city corporation’s Chief Property Officer assigned Magistrate Shahidul Alam to evict the market. A letter was also sent to the Deputy Commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police to ensure law and order during the operation.
However, in August of the same year, Mayor Hanif reportedly ignored legal objections and temporarily allocated the road area for construction of the wooden market. By September, tin structures had been erected on both sides and above the road, leaving only a narrow passage for movement.
Application Submitted Through Traders
After Awami League returned to power in 2009, traders of Joy Market complained that business was poor. They demanded relocation to other commercial centers such as:
Fulbaria Super Market
City Super Market
Nagar Plaza
Sources cited in the report claim that the applications were actually arranged to vacate the area so that the Awami League headquarters could be expanded.
Leaders of the Joy Market Traders’ Association said that Mayor Mohammad Hanif had originally allocated the road space for the market. After Awami League came to power in 2009, the party’s Deputy Office Secretary Mrinal Kanti Das proposed relocating the traders elsewhere.
According to them, he arranged several meetings between traders and Kabir Bin Anwar, an official from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). Following those discussions, a letter was submitted to the PMO.
Awami League urged Allocation of the Land
In 2010, Mrinal Kanti Das formally applied to the city corporation seeking allocation of the vacant land to the Awami League once the traders were relocated.
At the time, Sadeque Hossain Khoka, a BNP leader and mayor of Dhaka, did not approve the proposal.
On 4 January 2011, PMO Director (Administration) Kabir Bin Anwar wrote to the Local Government Secretary requesting allocation of space for 419 Joy Market traders at the Jatrabari wholesale market. The Local Government Division subsequently sent instructions to the city corporation on 14 February, but Mayor Khoka still did not act on the proposal.
After failing to secure cooperation from the city corporation, the Prime Minister’s Office reportedly instructed the Dhaka Deputy Commissioner’s office to record the Joy Market land under Khas Khatian No. 1 (government-owned land).
During the 2011 metropolitan survey, Plot No. 1805—the former road land—was recorded as non-agricultural land in the name of the Deputy Commissioner.
After the reclassification, Awami League applied for allocation of the land. On 1 February 2012, the Deputy Commissioner sent a proposal to the Ministry of Land recommending allocation to the party.
The ministry approved a long-term lease of the 4.12-decimal plot for Tk 46,626,540 (4 crore 66 lakh 26 thousand 540 taka). An allocation letter was issued on 13 March.
On 6 June 2012, then Deputy Commissioner Md. Mahibul Haque registered the deed in the name of Sheikh Hasina under 14 conditions. The deed number was 1991/2012.
Officials from the district administration reportedly questioned the legality of the allocation.
A land official at the Dhaka Deputy Commissioner’s Office, speaking anonymously to Asia Post, said:
“Road land cannot legally be granted under a long-term settlement. The then Deputy Commissioner provided the settlement to gain favor from the government.”
Original Land Also Registered in Sheikh Hasina’s Name
The land beneath the old four-story building, originally owned by Mamma Bai Adamjee, was also eventually registered in Sheikh Hasina’s name.
Although Awami League had been using the building since 1981, it formally applied for allocation much later. At the time, Mohammad Nasim, a senior Awami League leader, served as Minister of Housing and Public Works. The ministry reviewed the documents but did not complete the allocation process.
Even during BNP rule from 2001 to 2006, the building continued functioning as Awami League’s central office.
In 2007, the military-backed caretaker government decided to lease the property through an open tender process. According to the report, former mayor and Awami League leader Sayeed Khokon attempted to obtain the property in the name of the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP), but the effort was unsuccessful.
After Awami League returned to power in 2009, the government pursued outright purchase of the property rather than leasing it.
On 8 April 2010, the Ministry of Housing and Public Works sold the 6.31-decimal plot to Sheikh Hasina for Tk 9 million (90 lakh) through Deed No. 1456, registered at Sutrapur Sub-Registry Office.
Additional Land Included in New Building Project
At a later stage, the Awami League initiated construction of a modern ten-story building, replacing the old four-story structure.
Original Adamjee property: 6.31 decimals
Additional road land: 4.12 decimals. Total area of current building: 10.43 decimals. The additional 4.12 decimals had previously been designated as city corporation road land.
The two plots were merged, and construction of the new multi-story building began in 2016.
On 23 June 2018, Sheikh Hasina formally inaugurated the new headquarters building.
According to the report, both parcels of land had already been allocated in Sheikh Hasina’s name by the Awami League government before construction began.
Responses from Authorities
DSCC Chief Executive Officer Zahurul Islam told Asia Post: “If the land is recorded as city corporation road property, it will certainly be recovered. We will contact the relevant authorities. Furthermore, action will be taken in accordance with city corporation regulations regarding the collection of holding taxes.”
Dhaka Deputy Commissioner Farida Khanam said:
“I have not yet reviewed the documents. If it is found that land taxes and other dues have remained unpaid for many years in violation of the conditions, then necessary action will be taken under the Land Management Act.”