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The Chattogram Development Authority (CDA) has launched a drive against illegal and unauthorized buildings as part of its efforts to ensure planned urban development in the port city.
During inspections at 15 buildings, the authority fined the owners of seven buildings a total of Tk 4.05 million (Tk 40.5 lakh), sealed four buildings and issued warnings to the owners of three others.
A mobile court, led by CDA Special Metropolitan Magistrate Hamimun Tanzin, conducted the day-long drive across different parts of the city on Thursday (July 2).
According to CDA officials, the operation began in the Kalpalok Residential Area, where several buildings were found to have violated mandatory setback requirements—the minimum open space required between a building and the plot boundary—and had deviated significantly from their approved building plans.
Four under-construction buildings were fined a total of Tk 2.45 million (Tk 24.5 lakh) for violating the Building Construction Rules, while one building with serious irregularities was sealed on the spot.
Later, in the K.B. Aman Ali Road area, a building owner was fined Tk 1 million (Tk 10 lakh) for constructing a multi-storey building by encroaching on road space and failing to maintain the required setback.
In the Mohra area, the mobile court sealed a building that was being constructed without any approved design. Two other building owners in the area were fined a combined Tk 600,000 (Tk 6 lakh) for constructing buildings in violation of approved plans.
In the final phase of the drive, the CDA sealed the Cafe Al Makkah Hotel and Restaurant building at Kaptai Road intersection for being constructed without an approved design.
The mobile court also sealed the 14-storey Kazi Twin Tower after finding major irregularities in its approved design and failing to produce valid design documents, citing allegations of design-related fraud.
CDA Chairman Engineer Belayet Hossain said the authority would show zero tolerance toward illegal and unauthorized buildings to protect Chattogram’s carrying capacity and reduce risks to life and property.
“People have been constructing buildings however they wish. This can no longer be allowed,” he said.
He added that the CDA would continue its eviction and enforcement drives regularly to ensure a planned and safe urban environment in Chattogram.
