Over 300 realtors in business sans Rajuk permission

More than 300 developers and housing companies are engaged in real estate business without any valid permission from the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk), official sources have said.
As a result, a significant number of people are being cheated while buying land from such unauthorised companies or making booking for the same with them, according to them.
As per the existing provision, any land development and housing company is required to register with the Rajuk, the development authority of the capital city of Dhaka, before doing any real estate business in areas under the city.
"But most of the land development companies have been doing business without Rajuk's approval," said Sheikh Abdul Mannan, member (planning) of Rajuk while talking to the FE.
He said more than 313 companies were involved in land business, but only 13 companies got final approval from the Rajuk on 28 of their housing schemes.
Mr Mannan said the Rajuk had put on display a list of approved land development and housing schemes for information of the public.
However, although the capital development authority displayed the list of legal projects, it did not display the list of ongoing illegal private projects.
The parliamentary standing committee on the ministry of land has been told in a meeting that 21 of the unauthorised companies have grabbed more than 700 acres of state-owned Khas land in Dhaka city and surrounding areas.
The Rajuk official said many of the companies were selling land, though they had no land of their own even for putting up a sign. So the Rajuk put on display the list of only the legal projects to protect the general public from falling prey to such manipulative publicity.
The list has been placed there on the ground floor at the Rajuk Bhaban for public view.
In 2011 the court declared 77 housing projects illegal and also ordered the Rajuk to take measures against the illegal projects.
The High Court ordered Rajuk to stop any advertisement of the illegal housing projects in the media but they were still doing business, he said.
A former president of Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) told the FE the Rajuk could not play the due role unlike some other agencies. So the illegal projects could be undertaken without caring for the Rajuk approval, he added.
He said the Rajuk could have played a much more pro-active role to protect the customers' rights.
Azizur Rahman, an official of Bangladesh Land Developers Association (BLDA), told the FE more than 300 land developer companies were doing business and 200 of them were members of the association.
The business size of the companies having no approval from the Rajnk is approximately Tk 100 billion (10,000 crore).
He said: "I don't know which company has the Rajuk approval for land development in or around Dhaka city and which has not."
He also said when the companies obtained the association's membership, it was not then necessary for showing the Rajuk approval for their projects.
Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) secretary Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan told the FE that the Rajuk should also display the list of illegal projects alongside the list of legal projects.
He said the Rajuk had to take stern action against the unscrupulous housing companies to protect the general customers from any forgery.
Nearly 40 per cent of the customers buying land, plots or flats were being cheated by the dishonest land developers and housing companies, he added.