Pushing the boundaries of a lease

An illegal concrete structure has taken up the yard space at 15 BK Ganguly Lane, but the facade of the building (right) shows the historic architecture from the pre-partition era. Photo: Prabir Das

The busy roads of Kahettuly in Old Dhaka are home to many timeworn buildings with interesting architecture and history. One such building stands at 15 BK Ganguly Lane -- a property owned by the government -- with seven leaseholders living there.

With a space of 10,000 square feet, the building also had a yard space. That space has now been taken up by a new structure. According to the Transfer of Property Act 1882, the lessee cannot erect any permanent structure on the property without the consent of the lessor (which is the government in this case). The act mentions that permanent or temporary structures can be built on such properties upon agreement between two parties.

The under-construction structure belongs to one Dr Emdad Hossain, a leaseholder of the property. The construction began mid-March to the dismay of the other lessees: Imran Hossain, Md Ali Manik, Shafi Uddin Ahmed, Shahjahan Ali, Abdur Rahman and Monir Hossain.

“The gentleman had come to us a few months ago, saying that he had permission to build a structure here,” said one of the lessees. “He had only received permission for a temporary 40x20 feet structure. He not only took up more space, but also erected a permanent structure.”

Lessees complained that it was difficult to move around inside the property because of the structure, and it ruins the character and beauty of this over hundred year-old building.

Upon receiving complaints from the other leaseholders, the Ministry of Land served a letter to Emdad on April 25 this. The letter, signed by Joint Secretary Kamrul Hasan Ferdous, instructs that the construction work be stopped immediately.

The construction has been halted since, but there is no sign of any action for removing it entirely. The rest of the leaseholders fear the illegal construction will continue if strict action is not taken to demolish it.

In a conversation with The Daily Star, Abul Fatteh Mohammad Shafiqul Islam, additional deputy commissioner (Revenue) of Dhaka, said that Dr Emdad Hossain was recently issued a warning from his office regarding the matter.

“We have told him to cease work on the structure, and take down the illegal foundation,” he said. The ADC also added that if the warnings were not heeded, strict action would be taken soon.

In reply to the allegations, however, Dr Emdad Hossain said that he has no idea about the letter. “There must be some sort of conspiracy. The letter that you have is fake. As per an engineer’s advice, I am constructing the structure.” 

The building, which now falls under the Vested Property Act, originally belonged to one Arundra Nath Dasgupta, who left the country after partition in 1947. The government of Pakistan then requisitioned the building, handing over its responsibility to the concurrent estate office.

One part of it was allotted to Robiul Hossain, Hafiz Ahmed and Ahmed Hossain. The other part was used as an office for the Waqf Commission.

As the authorities annulled intermittent claims by the Waqf Commission on ownership of the building, the commission later moved elsewhere and leaseholders continued to live there peacefully, until the recent erection of the illegal structure.