JBC yet to get ownership of 80 Motijheel land after 36-year wait

Mashrukh Khan: A 36-year ownership dispute between two government entities over a main commercial property in Dhaka’s Motijheel has intensified, with the matter now likely heading toward legal resolution.

The contested property, located at plot No. 80 in Motijheel and widely known as “Prudential House,” includes an 11-storey building and land valued at around Tk 80 crore. The dispute involves the state-owned Jiban Bima Corporation (JBC) and the Dhaka Deputy Commissioner’s (DC) Office, both claiming ownership.

Jiban Bima Corporation asserts that the property was legally transferred to it in 1989 by the British firm Prudential Assurance Company through a Power of Attorney. However, the DC office maintains that official land records identify the property as government-owned.

In October 2022, JBC applied to register the property in its name, submitting the required documents to the Dhaka DC office. Nearly a year later, on October 16, 2023, the application was rejected. The DC office cited records from the Revised Survey (RS) and City Survey, which list the land under government ownership and advised JBC to seek legal remedy in court.

Prudential Assurance established its headquarters on the Motijheel plot in 1969, purchasing approximately six kathas of land. Following Bangladesh’s independence in 1971, JBC began managing Prudential’s operations in the country.

In 1989, Prudential decided to transfer its entire Bangladesh business to JBC. The transfer was executed through a Power of Attorney signed in London on June 5, 1989, with retrospective effect from January 1 of that year.

A major obstacle in resolving the dispute is the lack of authentication of the Power of Attorney by Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As the document was executed abroad, it required official verification, which has not been completed in over three decades. This has weakened JBC’s legal position and allowed the DC office to question the validity of the ownership claim.

JBC, however, argues that it has maintained uninterrupted possession of the property for more than 30 years and has consistently paid land development taxes, with receipts available up to the 2023–24 fiscal year.

Officials from the DC office emphasise that long-term possession or tax payments do not constitute proof of ownership. According to them, the property is recorded under Khatian No. 1, indicating it is government-owned khas land.

Dhaka’s Additional Deputy Commissioner (Revenue), Md. Abdur Rafiul Alam, told Insurance News BD that ownership is determined by official records. “The property belongs to whoever is listed in the records. Since this is recorded under Khatian No. 1, it is government khas land,” he said, adding that the DC office has no authority to alter the status and JBC must seek resolution through the courts.

Legal experts describe the situation as a 'government versus government' dispute, with two state entities locked in a prolonged administrative and legal conflict.

Attempts to obtain comments from officials of Jiban Bima Corporation’s engineering and property division were unsuccessful despite repeated efforts.