State Minister for Land Barrister Kaiser Kamal made a sudden visit to the Siddhirganj Land Office in Narayanganj Wednesday morning, only to find the office locked and no officials or employees present.
He said action would be taken against the staff for failing to report to work.
According to eyewitnesses and local sources, the state minister arrived at the office, located in Ward-5 of Narayanganj City Corporation, at 9:05am., five minutes after the government-specified opening time of 9am. The office door was still locked, and no responsible officials were at their posts. After waiting nearly 30 minutes, one person arrived and unlocked the office, allowing the state minister to enter. However, the relevant officials were still absent. During his visit, the minister spoke with a service seeker present at the office.
“The office time is 9am, but it is now 9:20am., and no one has come to the office. Why would they open it after 9? This is completely unacceptable,” Kamal told reporters. “Legal action will be taken against them in accordance with the rules.”
He added that the government’s first responsibility, elected by the people, is to take effective measures against corruption. “Under Prime Minister Tarek Rahman’s leadership, allegations of irregularities and corruption in land offices are being identified. People have complaints about various land offices across the country. A distance has developed between service-providing officials and service recipients. In many cases, there is no clear information on how long a task will take or how it will be completed.”
The state minister said sudden inspections would continue nationwide. “We are working properly to provide services to the people. With this goal, we conducted a surprise visit here today. Similar surprise visits will continue across the country.”