The ‘Ashrayan Project’ was launched to provide permanent housing for landless and homeless people. More than BDT 110 billion was spent on the project during the tenure of the ousted Awami League government. But on-the-ground visits to Ashrayan projects across different districts reveal a different reality. In many locations, the families allocated the houses no longer live there; elsewhere, government-provided homes have been sold for substantial sums of money. In some cases, houses left vacant for years have become gathering places for drug users and gamblers. A Bonik Barta investigation found that in many projects, influential local figures, intermediaries, or unauthorised occupants have taken over houses instead of the intended beneficiaries.
At the Shahapur (Dharmashur) Ashrayan Project in Ruhitpur Union of Keraniganj Upazila, Dhaka, 45 houses were allocated to landless and homeless families in 2022. During a visit to the site on Sunday, 21 of the 45 houses were found locked. The rust on the locks and the cobwebs surrounding them indicated that these homes had remained unoccupied for a long time.
Many of the 24 occupied houses where people are living do not have government allocations. The investigation found that some occupants had gained access through influential local individuals, some were living in houses allocated in the names of relatives, while others had reportedly obtained the houses in exchange for money.
During the visit, Rahima, a woman, was found living with her husband and children in a house officially allocated in the name of her sister, who has a disability. Selina, a widow, said she had moved into a vacant house with the assistance of a local political leader after being unable to afford rent. Another divorced woman said she had been allowed to stay there with her children through the support of a social worker and a “July fighter,” who had assured her that the necessary documentation would later be arranged. None of them, however, possessed a valid government allocation document.
Commenting on the matter, Md Omar Faruk, upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) of Keraniganj, told Bonik Barta: “Action will be taken against those occupying the houses without legal documentation or authorisation. It has been decided to cancel the allocation for those who aren’t living despite receiving the allocation.”
The situation in Keraniganj is not an isolated case. Similar irregularities and mismanagement have been found in Ashrayan housing projects across different districts of the country.
Photo: Staff Photographers
In Rangpur Sadar Upazila, 31 of the 39 houses built two years ago under the Borobhita and Beltola Ashrayan projects remain vacant. The eight occupied houses suffer from multiple problems, including the absence of electricity, damaged roads, collapsed toilets and cracked floors. Some of the abandoned houses have become gathering places for drug users, according to local residents.
In Naogaon’s Raninagar upazila, the local administration has found evidence that 12 houses under the Malipukur Ashrayan Project were sold. An investigation revealed that, without any government approval, the houses changed hands for between BDT 60,000 and BDT 110,000 through agreements signed on stamp paper. Many of the current occupants admitted that they had purchased the houses directly.
Asked about the allegations, Raninagar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Rakibul Hasan told Bonik Barta, “Evidence has been found that 12 out of the 32 houses were sold. The process of cancelling the allocations of those houses is now underway.”
A similar picture has emerged in Natore. Despite the construction of around 6,000 houses across the district’s seven upazilas, many have been abandoned due to poor maintenance. In some cases, people who weren’t genuinely landless get the allocations, while in others, beneficiaries moved elsewhere in search of livelihoods, leaving the houses overgrown and deserted. Natore Deputy Commissioner Asma Shahin said, “Those who aren’t staying in their allotted houses will be cancelled following an investigation.”
In Monirampur Upazila of Jashore, 62 completed houses have not been handed over to beneficiaries for an extended period. Left vacant for nearly one and a half years, some have become shelters for drug users and gamblers, while others are being used to store livestock feed and fuel. Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Samrat Hossen said instructions had been issued to hand over the houses as soon as possible.
Similarly, in the Mohishkur Ashrayan Project in Assasuni upazila of Satkhira, 18 houses built at a cost of nearly BDT 4.6 million have remained unused for the past year. Satkhira Deputy Commissioner Kawsar Aziz said, “We’ll take immediate steps to rehabilitate genuinely landless families in these houses.”
Relevant stakeholders say these are not isolated incidents; rather, similar patterns across different districts indicate irregularities and structural weaknesses in the allocation, monitoring, and management of houses under the Ashrayan Project.
Commenting on the irregularities, Dr Badiul Alam Majumdar, secretary of the Citizens for Good Governance (SHUJAN), told Bonik Barta, “Pervasive corruption has spread across different levels of our state institutions. Its impact is clearly visible in the Ashrayan Project as well. As a result, poor-quality infrastructure has been built, while houses have often been allocated to ineligible individuals instead of the actual beneficiaries. This has led to the misuse of public resources.”
He added, “The entire project should undergo an independent and impartial audit. Government officials, intermediaries, and political figures involved in irregularities should be identified and brought to justice.”
The Ashrayan Project was one of the flagship initiatives of the former Awami League government. But allegations of corruption repeatedly brought the project into the media spotlight. The project was implemented nationwide under the supervision of the PM Office during the tenure of the ousted government led by Sheikh Hasina.
Following Bangladesh’s independence, the country’s homeless rehabilitation programme was launched in 1972. In 1997, the initiative to provide land along with housing to landless families was institutionalised. According to government data, more than 850,000 families have so far received permanent housing under various rehabilitation programmes.
Under the Ashrayan-2 Project, the government aims to provide over 485,000 families with semi-permanent houses along with 2.5 decimals of land. Most of the houses under the current phase have already been allocated. Initially approved with a budget of BDT 11.69 billion, the project underwent several revisions during the previous government’s tenure, raising its total cost to around BDT 111.43 billion.
Bonik Barta made several attempts to contact the Prime Minister’s Office yesterday for comments on the alleged mismanagement and irregularities in the Ashrayan Project under the previous government. But no response was received.
This report was prepared with contributions from Abdul Kader (Jashore Correspondent), Golam Sarwar (Satkhira Correspondent), Mahbub Hossain (Natore Correspondent), Arman Hossain (Naogaon Correspondent) and SM Pial (Rangpur Correspondent).