According to the Rajuk, the five-star hotel authorities have no approved plan for the hotel's under-construction extension project in the Begunbari canal area to the southeast of the main hotel building.

The project includes a multi-storied car park, convention hall, tower block, boundary and retaining walls and peripheral road network.

"The hotel authorities will now have to pay approval fees at penalty rate (10 times than the regular) to get the construction design passed and an additional fine for construction without obtaining an approved plan," said Muzaffar Uddin, authorised officer, Rajuk's Building Construction (BC) committee-4.

Above all, the design has to be drawn in compliance with building construction rules.

Rajuk served the first notice on August 6 requesting the hotel authorities to produce an approved construction plan, if any, but Sonargaon authorities failed to respond within the stipulated time.

The second notice also states that the hotel authorities have continued with the construction violating section three of the Building Construction Act of 1952.

As to why the authorities have not responded to Rajuk's notice, project engineer of the extension, Ershadul Haq said: "We are going to submit a construction plan on retaining wall, boundary wall and peripheral road network."

When asked why they started construction without an approved design, Haq said: "I think retaining wall (to retain land), fencing wall and peripheral road do not require approval of construction design."

When asked why he is preparing such a plan now to submit to Rajuk, Haq said "We are preparing the plan on the kind of wall and peripheral road we hope to build."

"Any kind of construction requires approval," said a Rajuk high official. "There is provision of even temporary approval for a temporary construction," he added.

About construction designs for multi-storied car parking, convention hall and tower block of the project, Ershadul Haq said: "We have not yet made a design for the construction of these establishments."

On the contrary he had earlier claimed that the extension project had an approved construction plan and land use clearance for the project.

When asked again after Rajuk had issued the notice, the project engineer said: "I am not sure whether we have land use clearance."

Regarding the groundwork for the multi-storied car park and high-rise tower block without any approved construction plan, Haq said that the foundation work was not for the main construction, but for the retaining wall.

If the construction, whatever done so far, is found in compliance with the building construction (setback) rules, Sonargaon will get approval of the design, said Muzaffar Uddin, and in case the construction does not comply with the rules, they will have to rectify the plan to get approval.

"Whatever the case maybe, Sonargaon, will have to pay approval fees at penalty rate and a fine for construction without approval," he said.

Sources said that Sonargaon Hotel authorities have not submitted any construction plan to Rajuk's BC section though construction has commenced.

Rajuk instructed the Hotel Sonargaon to submit construction plan in consultation with Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet).

On a visit to the site, this correspondent found that a large portion of the canal had been earth-filled for construction of the extension.

In case Sonargaon authorities disregard the second notice too, Rajuk will demolish the unauthorised construction serving a third (final) notice with a seven-day deadline.

But in scores of examples, Rajuk's success in penalising the errant builders has been limited to serving mere notices. It has hardly been able to exert its authority in rectifying unauthorised buildings and bringing the violators to book. It has consistently lost in most court cases it has filed against non-compliant builders who are invariably powerful.