Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) is one of the most important government institutions in Bangladesh, working alongside the Dhaka City Corporation authorities to ensure planned development for millions of people living in the megacity.
One of the key roles of Rajuk is to regulate and oversee building design and construction and to take precautions where necessary to prevent the existing buildings from a disastrous fall. The role makes it a savior, but irregularities, inefficiency and indifference have turned Rajuk into a hub of corruption, where service seekers can acquire approvals in exchange for bribes.
Bribery is allegedly practiced by dozens at Rajuk - from office clerks to higher officials - while those who are already under the scanner have no fear of action as there are instances of corrupt officials getting promotions.
An official of the administration and finance wing of Rajuk, on condition of anonymity, said: "Recently, the issues of corruption are coming to the fore. Not only Shafiullah Babu's name has appeared in the media. I don't know if action is being taken in this regard or not. Mr Chairman can say better."
Several attempts were made to contact Rajuk Chairman Anisur Rahman Mia, but he was not available on the phone. However, in a recent interview with a newspaper, he said: "Officers and employees who are known as corrupt are being identified. The allegations that have already appeared in the media will be investigated.
“Besides, many corrupt people are under investigation by thAnti-Corruption Commission (ACC). As a result, those who have acquired huge wealth through illegal means are not at ease. Many of them will not be able to survive in Rajuk much longer."
However, even though there are multiple lists, anti-corruption initiatives usually come to a standstill when there is a change in the chairman post. The appointment of Anisur Rahman Mia as chairman of Rajuk became effective on June 4, 2022, and he is scheduled to go on post-retirement leave on April 1.
Well-known corruption
No action, except for suspensions, has been taken against listed corrupt officials several times. Most of the accused are still in their positions, while some of them even received promotions.
One person accused of corruption in Rajuk is Shafiullah Babu, who is a third-class employee of the institution. Currently, his salary is Tk35,000.
He started working as an office assistant in 2001. Babu is reportedly good at fake signatures and has owned hundreds of crores of taka in the last few years.
Rajuk sources alleged that Shafiullah Babu's corruption is nothing new. On March 16, 2020, ACC Assistant Director Monirul Islam sent a letter seeking information on allegations they had received from various sources, but the case has not seen any progress in the last three years.
The names of several people have recently come up in relation to corruption allegations. They include Assistant Director Samsul Alam working at Uttara Estate Branch, Supervisor Rebecca Yasmin at Purbachal State Branch, Accountant Mofazzal Hossain Bidyut, Office Assistant Jahangir Alam of Zone-3 and several other officials and employees.
Samsul Alam was a daily wage worker of Rajuk. Later, he took a third class job as Junior Accounts Assistant. At that time he also became active in the employee union. In 2002, during the construction of Rajuk Trade Center in the capital's Khilkhet, he reportedly took over at least 20 shops using the influence of the general secretary of the employees' union. After that, he gradually became the owner of multiple plots in Purbachal and Jhilmil projects, 1/D in Nikunja residential area and a duplex house on road number 13.
Rebeka Yasmin is the supervisor of Purbachal Estate branch and owns multiple houses in Dhaka. She reportedly has three houses in Uttara Sector 11, Kadamtala Basabo and Pragoti Sarani in the capital. According to sources, Rebecca has allegedly acquired a huge amount of money by trading and institutional plot lobbying. Besides, there is an allegation of forgery of Rajuk's documents against her.
Earlier, she was working as a dealing assistant in the Gulshan State Branch for 5 consecutive years. After being promoted as a supervisor, she has been posted at Purbachal for 14 consecutive years.
Rajuk Zone-3 Office Assistant Jahangir Alam is reportedly a millionaire. Jahangir allegedly amassed huge wealth through forgery and bribery. He has a Tk3.5 crore flat in Mirpur Shewrapara, multiple plots in Purbachal and Uttara, and also has a large house in Savar. Apart from this, he allegedly owns a large amount of land in Gandail village of Kazipur Upazila, Sirajganj.
One Abdul Mateen filed a written complaint with the ACC on August 8 over Jahangir's alleged corruption and misdeeds. A senior officer of the ACC has asked for an update on the complaint.
Recently, the extent of Rajuk's corruption came to the fore when questions were raised about the designs of buildings following a string of fires.
February 4, the High Court ordered the submission of a report on the investigation into allegations of illegal wealth acquisition by a section of employees of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk). The court has asked ACC and Rajuk to submit a report in this regard by April 5.
On December 29 last year, a national daily published a report stating that documents of around 30,000 clients regarding the approval of building construction have been lost from the server of Rajuk, and Rajuk came to known about the matter on December 6.
On January 2, the High Court issued a rule seeking an explanation from Rajuk over the disappearance of the documents from its server.
On January 4, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed a case against nine people. The accused officials are former assistant director of Rajuk Nasir Uddin Sharif, Deputy Director Didarul Alam, and office assistants Parvez Chowdhury, Anwar Hossain, SM Touhidul Islam and Alauddin Sarkar.
In 2021, Deputy Director Hafizul Islam filed a case against Abdul Jalil Akand, a former driver of the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk), and his wife Jahanara Begum on charges of acquiring assets illegally.
In 2020, ACC Assistant Director Nargis Sultana filed a lawsuit against Mohammad Mohiuddin, an employee Rajuk, for allegedly amassing illegal wealth worth around Tk72 lakh.
The same year, ACC Assistant Director Saiful Islam filed a case against Shirin Akhter, wife of Jamal Uddin, former accountant of Rajuk, for allegedly acquiring assets over Tk120,22,000, beyond known sources of income.
Bleak future
Experts have called for ending corruption in construction as Dhaka would face a catastrophic situation in case of a major earthquake or fire, mainly due to absence of enforcement of the Building Code.
Md Mijanur Rahman, director general of the Department of Disaster Management, has said nearly 100,000 buildings are constructed in Dhaka city every year, among which up to 10,000 have no structural design.
“These buildings look good from the outside, but they do not have structural integrity. There is no one to supervise these buildings. Even if there are supervisors, they do not pay much attention,” he said at a workshop on Thursday.
“Rajuk is supposed to ensure that every building follows the Building Code and structural design, but they are not doing it due to lack of capacity. Ultimately, we all are at great risk,” he added.