Desk Report,
32 prominent citizens demand end to eviction of Santals in Gobindaganj in the name of EPZ
Thirty-two prominent citizens of the country have demanded an end to the eviction of Santal farmers and attempts to acquire fertile agricultural land in the name of setting up an EPZ in Gobindaganj, Gaibandha. At the same time, they have also demanded an impartial investigation into the corruption and irregularities committed in the establishment of Export Processing Zones (EPZs) or Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in the last one and a half to two decades.
32 prominent citizens demand end to eviction of Santals in Gobindaganj in the name of EPZ
In a joint statement on Wednesday, they said, “We are observing with deep concern and anger that, following the path of the loyalists of the previous dictatorship, a class of corrupt bureaucrats and a vicious circle are continuing their plans to acquire fertile agricultural land in the name of EPZs and evict poor farmers, especially ethnic minorities, in all corners of the country.”
The citizens alleged that a corrupt circle has become active by announcing the establishment of an EPZ in the Bagda Farm area of Gobindaganj to evict the Santals living there. However, according to the law, environmental impact assessment (EIA) and social impact assessment (SIA) were mandatory before implementing such projects, but they were not done there. Not only Gobindaganj, but in most of the EPZs declared in the past, these processes were not followed.
The statement said that in the last 16 years, more than a hundred EPZs have been announced. But it has been seen that despite acquiring 33,000 acres of land, only 10 projects have been launched, of which 8 are government and 2 are private. The Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) said that although there were instructions to use khas land, reclaimed land or non-agricultural land for establishing these zones, in reality most of them were fertile agricultural land with two to three crops.
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Bangladesh
32 prominent citizens demand end to eviction of Santal farmers in the name of EPZ in Gobindaganj
Own Reporter
Dhaka
Published: 09 July 2025, 23:07
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32 prominent citizens of the country have demanded an end to the eviction of Santal farmers and attempts to acquire fertile agricultural land in the name of establishing EPZ in Gobindaganj, Gaibandha. At the same time, they have also demanded an impartial investigation into the corruption and irregularities committed in the establishment of Export Processing Zones (EPZs) or Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in the last one and a half to two decades.
In a joint statement on Wednesday, they said, “We are observing with deep concern and anger that, following the path of the loyalists of the previous dictatorship, a group of corrupt bureaucrats and a vicious circle are continuing their schemes to acquire fertile agricultural land and evict poor farmers, especially ethnic minorities, in the name of EPZs in various parts of the country.”
The citizens alleged that a corrupt circle has become active by announcing the establishment of an EPZ in the Bagda Farm area of Gobindaganj to evict the Santals living there. However, according to the law, environmental impact assessment (EIA) and social impact assessment (SIA) are mandatory before implementing such projects, but they were not done there. Not only in Gobindaganj, but in most of the EPZs announced in the past, these processes were not followed.
The statement said that in the last 16 years, more than a hundred EPZs have been announced. But it has been seen that despite acquiring 33,000 acres of land, only 10 projects have been launched, of which 8 are government and 2 are private. The Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) said that although there were instructions to use khas land, reclaimed land or non-agricultural land for establishing these zones, in reality most of them were fertile agricultural land with two or three crops.
Citizens said that no work has started in many projects for years. However, farmers have been evicted from the acquired land. But there are allegations that many have not received compensation. Many EPZs have been established despite filling reservoirs and destroying the environment. There have been allegations of looting and embezzlement of hundreds of crores of taka in the name of implementing these projects in the past years.
In the case of several special economic zones established by private initiatives, it has been seen that a large part of the land acquired for them is fertile agricultural land or reservoirs. In some places, entrepreneurs have declared economic zones by illegally dumping sand on the land, making it barren—there are several such examples in Sonargaon, Narayanganj. In this situation, BEZA recently announced the cancellation of 10 of its economic zones. According to the current chairman of the organization, in the current reality, 10 zones can be created in the next 10 years.
