Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha is likely to hold tomorrow the lottery for allotment of plots under Purbachal New Town Project under three categories. ‘We are likely to start the process of holding lottery on September 16 through drawing lottery for three categories,’ Rajuk chairman-in-charge AYM Golam Kibria told New Age on Monday.

Another Rajuk official said three categories under which the lottery would be held are artist and intellectuals, justice and wage earners i.e. expatriates. Lottery for the Uttara (third phase) and other categories for Purbachal, however, would be held after Eid-ul-Fitr, the official said. Earlier, the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology was entrusted with scrutinising around 1.57 lakh applications submitted against some 6,800 plots in Purbachhal and Uttara till April 30.

Sources said BUET is yet to complete the total task of sorting out the applications and that’s why the lottery under other categories as well as of Uttara will be held later on. Rajuk will allot 400 plots of ten kathas, 690 plots of seven and a half kathas, 3,200 plots of five kathas and 1,710 plots of three kathas in Purbachal New Town project while 395 plots of five kathas and 405 plots of three kathas will be allotted in Uttara (third phase) project, Rajuk sources said. Some 40,000 expatriates applied from abroad for the plots under two projects.

On November 25, 2008, Rajuk had sought applications in 12 categories including lawmakers, judges, journalists, government service holders, officials of autonomous bodies, armed forces, artists, sportsmen, businessmen and private sector service holders. After the Awami League-led alliance government came to power, Rajuk authorities for the second time extended the deadline for submitting applications from January 15 to April 30, 2009. Earlier, the state minister for housing and public works, Abdul Mannan Khan, on different occasions had said that the process of distributing plots would be completed by June, 2009.

Uncertainty and delay over plot allotment caused frustration among one and a half lakh applicants who deposited substantial amount with their applications. While Rajuk is allegedly earning hefty amounts in bank interest on the deposits, the plot seekers are counting loses which they could earn as interest against their deposited money. The plot applicants have deposited around Tk 1,500 crore which is now kept in Rajuk’s banks accounts, said an official. On the other hand, Rajuk earned Tk 20 crore by selling around two lakh application forms, each costing Tk 1,000.

-New Age