Hill Voice, 10 July 2025, special correspondent: Thirty-two eminent citizens have expressed deep concern and outrage over attempts to evict Santal farmers in the name of establishing an Export Processing Zone (EPZ) in the Bagda Farm area of Gobindaganj, Gaibandha. They have also demanded an impartial investigation into the widespread corruption and irregularities associated with EPZ and Special Economic Zone (SEZ) projects implemented over the past one-and-a-half to two decades.

In a statement sent to the media on Wednesday (9 July), the citizens raised these concerns.

In the statement, they said, “We are observing with deep concern and indignation that, following in the footsteps of loyalists of past authoritarian regimes, a group of corrupt officials and a vested syndicate are attempting to acquire fertile agricultural land across the country in the name of establishing Special Economic Zones (SEZs) or Export Processing Zones (EPZs), and are trying to forcibly evict poor farming communities, particularly indigenous peoples. At this very moment, a coordinated group of corrupt individuals has become highly active in announcing the establishment of an EPZ in the Bagda Farm area of Gobindaganj, Gaibandha, with the aim of evicting the Santal farmers living there.”

“However, to establish such an EPZ or special economic zone, it is mandatory to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and a Social Impact Assessment (SIA) by independent and neutral experts before undertaking the project. But none of these were done in that case. Not only in Gobindaganj, but in most of the EPZs announced in recent times, these procedures have not been followed.”

“They said that based on their professional and collective experience, they know that over the past one and a half to two decades, many projects related to the establishment of EPZs (Export Processing Zones) in various regions of the country have not only increased public suffering, harassment, and displacement of marginal farmers and indigenous communities in the name of promised economic development, but there have also been numerous allegations of irregularities and corruption in the implementation processes of those projects.

Additionally, a large portion of the agricultural land acquired in the name of EPZs consists of highly fertile double-crop and triple-crop lands. In many cases, even years after land acquisition, no EPZ activities have commenced. There are also complaints that a significant number of farmers, whose fertile lands were acquired, have not received any compensation. Over the past several years, there have been allegations of misappropriation and embezzlement involving hundreds of crores of taka in connection with these projects.

Although the past 16 years of authoritarian rule saw declarations for the establishment of 100 EPZs or Special Economic Zones, in reality, only 10 such zones were actually set up on about 33,000 acres of acquired land—8 of them under government initiative and the remaining 2 under private initiative.

According to the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA), these EPZs were supposed to be established on government-owned land, reclaimed land, or non-agricultural land. However, in practice, it is observed that most of these zones have been established on fertile double-or triple-crop agricultural land.

Furthermore, in the few Special Economic Zones established under private initiative, a large portion of the land—either acquired by the government or occupied (legally or illegally) by private investors—comprises fertile agricultural land or filled-in water bodies. Some private entrepreneurs have illegally dumped sand on fertile land to render it barren and then had it declared as an economic zone. There are several such notorious examples, including in Sonargaon, Narayanganj.

Recently, the Chairman of BEZA announced the cancellation of 10 economic zones under their authority and stated that, given the current circumstances, establishing just 10 economic zones in the next 10 years would be sufficient.”

In this context, citizens have placed a five-point demand before the government. The demands are as follows:

1.The alleged attempt to establish an EPZ in the Bagda Farm area of Gobindaganj, Gaibandha—reportedly aimed at displacing the Santal indigenous people engaged in agriculture and residing there, with the tacit support of certain officials from the relevant ministry and district administration—must be immediately stopped.

2.A high-level investigation committee must be formed to determine whether any corruption, irregularities, or violations of law occurred in the land acquisition and overall implementation of EPZs that have been established or proposed so far under both government and private initiatives. The investigation should also examine whether poor farmers, indigenous peoples, or other communities have been denied compensation or harmed in any other way.

3. An assessment must be conducted to determine how much fertile agricultural land has been destroyed or remains unused due to the establishment of EPZs and SEZs. It is essential to quantify the extent of damage caused to the environment and agriculture in the name of implementing EPZs or SEZs.

4. Those involved in corruption, irregularities, abuse, or fraud against farmers must be identified and brought under the law, with strict measures taken to ensure accountability and appropriate punishment.

5. For all EPZs or Special Economic Zones that remain unused, the acquired land must be released and, if necessary, returned to agriculture through special provisions and legal amendments. The land forcibly acquired from farmers must be restored to them.

The statement was signed by 32 distinguished citizens:
Dr. Hamida Hossain, Sultana Kamal, Khushi Kabir, Dr. Iftekharuzzaman, Rasheda K. Choudhury, Shirin Parveen Huq, Shaheen Anam, Dr. Sumaiya Khair, Advocate Z.I. Khan Panna, Advocate Taslima Islam, Samina Luthfa, Shamsul Huda, Robayet Ferdous, Dr. Zobaida Nasreen, Dr. Swapan Adnan, Advocate Salma Ali, Advocate Subrata Chowdhury, Tasnim Siraj Mahbub, Dr. Khairul Chowdhury, Pavel Partha, Advocate Minhajul Haque Chowdhury, Monindra Kumar Nath, Rozina Begum, Maidul Islam, Dr. Sadaf Noor, Professor Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, Zakir Hossain, Dipayan Khisa, Advocate Saidur Rahman, Rezaur Rahman Lenin, Saeed Ahmed, Hana Shams Ahmed.