Rajuk under ACC scanner [ Tritiyo Matra News ]

Rajuk under ACC scanner

Local April 19, 2017

A good number of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha officials are facing probe by the Anti-Corruption Commission into allegations of irregularities and corruption.
The commission on Tuesday interrogated Rajuk chief town planner M Sirazul Islam, town planner Ashraf Ali Akhand and its zone-5 authorised officer AZM Safiul Hanan about graft allegations against them.
There are widespread allegations that most of the Rajuk officials and employees are involved in various irregularities and the service seekers are compelled to pay kickbacks for any service.
The commission has arrested over a dozen of serving and former Rajuk officials, a former chairman and two serving project directors, since it intensified drives after the joining of commission chairman Iqbal Mahmood in March 2016.
Commission secretary Abu M Mustafa Kamal told New Age on Tuesday that the commission was probing huge number of allegations against Rajuk officials received so far.
He said that the commission earlier organised public hearing twice as an initiative to ensure hassle-free services in the city development authority.
Transparency International Bangladesh executive director Iftekharuzzaman said that the commission needed to dig corruption at every stage at the Rajuk.
He also suggested to the commission and Rajuk that they jointly organise awareness building programmes against corruption.
A three-member team of the commission led by its deputy director M Helaluddin Sharif interrogated them for about two hours from 10:00am on Tuesday at the commission headquarters, its public relations officer Pranab Kumar Bhattacharjee.
Commission officials said that the three officials were interrogated on allegations of approving designs of buildings inside Rajuk’s Detailed Area Plan showing that the sites were outside the area.
The suspects also allegedly approved plans of a good number of commercial buildings in residential areas and residential buildings in commercial areas violating the law, the officials said.
They said that the three suspects approved the plan of a 10-storey building in Indira Road area against a deceased person.
Sirazul Islam and Ashraf Ali could not be reached for comments as their phones were found switched off.
Sofiul Hanan said that he would not talk to media.
The commission is also investigating graft allegations against a good number of Rajuk officials, including its director Sheikh Shahinul Islam and Rajuk Employees Welfare Association president Abdul Malek and
general secretary Aurangzeb Siddiqui.
On February 23, the commission arrested former Rajuk chief engineer M Emdadul Islam on charge of amassing illegal wealth.
On February 8, the commission arrested former Rajuk chairman Iqbal Uddin Chowdhury on the charge of irregularities in allotting plots.
On December 14, 2016, commissioner Md Nasiruddin Ahmed told a public hearing on Rajuk’s service organised by the commission that Rajuk was completely immersed in corruption.
The commission would invite trouble if it chose to disturb Rajuk, housing and public works minister Mosharraf Hossain said at a meet the press hosted by Dhaka Reporters Unity on October 4, 2016.
The minister made the remarks about a month after two senior Rajuk officials were arrested by the commission on charge of embezzling government fund worth Tk 3.46 crore.
Commission officials said that the public works minister was apparently annoyed over the arrest of Rajuk Uttara Apartment Project superintendent engineer Sydur Rahman and Gulshan-Banani-Baridhara and Uttara Lake Development Project executive engineer and project director Monwarul Islam.
Rajuk officials and employees had staged demonstrations for days protesting against the arrests.
On September 1, 2016, Transparency International Bangladesh said that Rajuk officials were showing thumb to anti-corruption stance of the government by staging protests against the commission.
In a statement, the graft watchdog made the comment expressing grave concern over such reaction over the arrest of two Rajuk officials on specific graft allegations, and also stressed the need for effective steps to keep government officials away from corruption.