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Legal complications that stalled construction of the Dhaka Elevated Expressway and a four-lane railway line underneath it for seven years have been resolved.
The Appellate Division’s Chamber Judge, Justice Md Rezaul Haque, on Wednesday (October 14) issued an order allowing the government to continue the development work, Attorney General Md Ruhul Quddus Kajal confirmed.
Construction had remained suspended on a small stretch in the Moghbazar-Piarabagh area due to litigation and a land ownership dispute.
Although the disputed land belongs to Bangladesh Railway, writ petitioner AM Mostafizur Rahman had claimed ownership of the property.
The Land Survey Tribunal ruled in his favour in 2019. However, the subsequently formed Land Survey Appellate Tribunal ruled in favour of Bangladesh Railway on September 2 this year.
Mostafizur Rahman later filed a writ petition with the High Court challenging the appellate tribunal’s decision. On September 28, the High Court issued a status quo order over the disputed land, putting the development work in uncertainty once again.
In response, the state, the Ministry of Railways, the deputy commissioner and the settlement officer filed a civil miscellaneous petition with the Appellate Division challenging the High Court order.
Following a hearing held with special permission from the vacation judge, the court lifted the status quo order imposed by the High Court.
As a result, no further legal obstacle remains to completing the remaining construction work on the elevated expressway and the four-lane railway line, according to the attorney general.