Indian business conglomerate Sahara India Pariwar will not be given 100,000 acres of land to build a satellite town near Bangladesh capital, Dhaka, as reported by the local media, a minister said at the end of last month.
State Minister for Housing Abdul Mannan Khan’s statement came in the wake of strong objections from the local realtors against the government decision to give Sahara entry into the country’s real estate sector.
Refuting recent media reports on this, Khan said a memorandum of understanding was inked with Sahara Matribhumi Unnayan Corporation Ltd in this regard.
“But there is no such provision (giving the land to Sahara) in the MoU,” Mannan told the parliament in response to lawmakers’ queries.
The country’s procurement policy and other rules and regulations will be followed properly in such housing projects, he mentioned.
He added that the government was determined to save agricultural land and it always emphasises the importance of minimal use of agricultural land for housing.”
The two sides signed the deal on May 24 in the capital.
On June 2, real estate and housing association leaders demanded the government enter a dialogue with them before going ahead with Sahara’s proposal.
Communications Minister Obaidul Quader on June 14 said the government should have discussed the matter with its own stakeholders on whether the sector needs any foreign investment.
