The ousted Awami League government launched a project called Ashrayan-2, aiming to resettle nearly 500,000 landless, homeless, uprooted and destitute families across the country. Begun in 2021 to mark the “Mujib Century,” the project built more than 250,000 semi-pucca houses, with beneficiary families receiving each house along with two decimals of land. Rows of colourful tin-roofed houses in various areas once looked like the makings of new settlements. But within five years, many project areas tell a different story. Many beneficiaries are not living in the houses they were allotted. Some homes are locked. In others, plaster has crumbled off the walls, and doors and windows have broken down. Elsewhere, homes are effectively abandoned, overrun by weeds. A project once full of promise has become a name synonymous with regret. A scheme this large, costing 11,142 crore taka, is now effectively a big zero.
Launched to mark the Mujib Century, Ashrayan-2 was one of the country’s largest housing programmes. But questions arose from the start of the four-phase project over construction quality, beneficiary selection and cost. After houses were handed over to 69,904 families in the first phase on January 23, 2021, reports of houses collapsing and developing cracks in various districts surfaced in the media within months. A government investigation committee was formed at the time.
Implemented under the Prime Minister’s Office, the cost per house in the first phase was set at 171,000 taka. This was raised to 190,000 taka in the second phase, 264,500 taka in the third phase, and 305,000 taka in the fourth phase. The project’s approved cost in the first phase was more than 4,840 crore taka. After a fourth revision on January 4, 2022, the cost stood at 11,142 crore taka — an increase of 6,316 crore taka. The project deadline was also extended to June 2023, but the work remained unfinished by then. After the political change of August 5, 2024, the Anti-Corruption Commission began investigating allegations of irregularities in the project. The interim government later cancelled it.
Empty settlements
The Ashrayan project’s core goal was to give destitute families a permanent home. Many families moved into their new houses with joy and excitement at the time of inauguration. But that joy faded within a short time. Between September 3 and 8, Agamir Somoy conducted a field survey of Ashrayan projects across 40 upazilas in 18 districts. Verifying specific data on 1,414 houses in these areas, it found 775 homes empty, locked or abandoned. Based on this sample, the vacancy rate stands at 54.81 percent.
The highest vacancy was found on the ground in Bhogaipara, Sherpur, where all 30 houses were found locked. Local residents said the occupants had locked up their houses and moved to Dhaka and elsewhere in search of work.
Of 22 houses in Chhatrakanda in Bauphal, Patuakhali, 21 are abandoned. Locals are using them as cattle sheds and straw storage. At the Char Atra Khasbazar Ashrayan project on a Padma river char in Naria, Shariatpur, 90 of 100 houses are empty. Only three families live there, due to a lack of basic facilities and severe communication problems. Samsuddin Byapari, a member of Char Atra union parishad, told Agamir Somoy that the project area has taken on a haunted atmosphere after being empty for so long. Tin roofing, doors, windows and electrical fittings have been stolen from most houses. There is no one to maintain them.
The lone exception to this disorder is Kaptai in Rangamati. In the upazila’s five unions, 110 houses were built. All of them are occupied by the families they were allotted to. However, those families face problems with safe drinking water, roads and drainage.
Faulty construction
Field visits found that Ashrayan houses became unfit for use within a short time of being handed over. In Dhankara union of Gangni upazila, Meherpur, houses were built with substandard bricks and brick chips, causing them to bend and become at risk of collapse.
Dilip Chandra’s house, in Jotal Mathai village of Chamrul union, Dupchanchia upazila, Bogura, sits beside the union health and family welfare centre. In 2025, a banyan tree fell and completely destroyed the house. Dilip Chandra and his family are now living in miserable conditions in a makeshift tin shed nearby. Government officials who visited have offered only assurances.
Upazila project implementation officer Abdul Baseed Khandaker said: “All records were destroyed when the office burned down during the anti-discrimination movement. So we don’t have accurate statistics on the Ashrayan project. This was a project from the previous government’s tenure. There is currently no government allocation for it here.”
Irregularities and the well-off moving in
Evidence has emerged of major irregularities in the allocation of Ashrayan houses, and of genuinely landless people being deprived. There are allegations that, under the influence of local Awami League leaders at the time, houses were allotted to well-off individuals who already owned pucca homes. Abul Kashem, former president of the residents’ association at the Char Sonapota Ashrayan project in Debiganj upazila, Panchagarh, said: “A man named Lutfor Mia got a house despite already owning a pucca house.”
At the Putimari project in Paikgachha, Khulna, allegations have emerged that about 30 of 90 houses were sold off for 30,000 to 100,000 taka. Paikgachha Upazila Nirbahi Officer Wasiuzzaman Chowdhury said: “There is no scope for selling a government-allotted house. If proven through investigation, legal action will be taken.”
A haven for crime
These largely or entirely empty Ashrayan projects have now become havens for drug dealers, gamblers and troublemakers. In the unpopulated Gopalnagar and Vatpara areas of Gangni, Meherpur, the houses have become gathering spots for illicit activity and drug use. Meherpur Deputy Commissioner Shilpi Rani Roy said a committee would investigate and allot the empty houses to genuinely landless people. The district police superintendent has been informed about the drug and criminal activity. At three Ashrayan projects in the Char Sayedpur area of Narayanganj, 156 families were given houses. But with rising harassment from drug users and thieves, the families live in fear for their safety. UNO S M Foyez Uddin said a team has been assigned to identify the problems in the area after a field inspection.
Missing basic amenities
The Laluya Bagali Ashrayan project in Koyra upazila, Khulna, was built on a river char. More than three years on, it still has no electricity connection. All four tube wells installed in the project area are out of order. Affected residents allege that, in many cases, proper feasibility studies or planning were not carried out before Ashrayan projects were built. Many project sites were set up in remote chars or low-lying areas cut off from the mainland or markets. The Mandargaon and Noagaon Ashrayan projects in Manoharganj upazila, Cumilla, were built on low-lying, flood-prone land, causing them to flood with even light rain. With no drainage system, dirty water sits stagnant for days. At Chandbaria cluster village in Shahjahanpur, Bogura, 11 of 15 families live in their houses, but face an acute water crisis. Of three tube wells, one is broken and another has excess iron content, leaving 11 families dependent on a single functioning tube well.
Assurances, or an actual solution?
Under Ashrayan-2 policy, only landless and homeless families are eligible for a house. Allotted houses or land cannot be sold, rented or transferred, with provisions for cancelling the allotment if such violations are found. Field administration officials in Chandpur, Gazipur, Jamalpur, Meherpur, Pabna and Nilphamari told Agamir Somoy that lists of empty and misappropriated houses are being prepared. Where evidence is found of houses being sold or occupied in violation of policy, allotments will be cancelled and redistributed to genuinely landless families.
Asked about the overall situation, disaster management expert Gawher Nayeem Wara told Agamir Somoy that the main reason for the Ashrayan project’s failure was flawed selection of beneficiaries and locations. “This was essentially a crash programme from the start,” he said. “Officials were more focused on taking attractive photos of the houses than on the quality of the work. Before construction, it was essential to consider where people had a livelihood, what the connectivity was like, and whether there was access to water and electricity. But that wasn’t done. Where there is no livelihood opportunity, and houses are simply built on khas or abandoned land, people will not stay.”
According to Gawher Nayeem Wara, damaged houses need to be rebuilt, repairable ones renovated, empty houses redistributed, and the list of beneficiaries re-verified from scratch. Local government institutions must also be involved in decision-making and oversight to ensure employment opportunities, connectivity and basic services.