The Anti-Corruption Commission has acquitted Dhaka Wasa Managing Director Taksim A Khan from the charges of causing the state exchequer a loss of around Tk500 crore in the Padma (Jashaldia) Water Treatment Plant Project (Phase 1).
But the anti-graft body has recommended that the Local Government Division and the LGRD and Cooperatives Ministry take action against Taskim.
The matter of his acquittal signed by the commission’s Secretary Abu Md Mustafa Kamal was posted on the ACC website recently. A high official of the commission confirmed the matter to the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.
The ACC received the allegation in December last year and started inquiry against the chief of Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) in May this year.
The allegation states that Wasa selected a Chinese company, CAMC Engineering Company Ltd, for the project without inviting an open tender and signed an agreement with them on November 5, 2013 – 13 months prior to the project’s approval by the cabinet.
It is alleged that Taskim awarded the work order to the Chinese company without following due procedure of tender and vetting, costing the state exchequer around Tk350 crore.
Moreover, Wasa will have to count Tk150 crore more for importing substandard pipes, which would be used in the project, long before acquiring land for the project in Munshiganj.
After the anti-graft body started its inquiry, the officials got objection from Buet regarding the quality of the pipes. It said that the plant needs K 10 class DI pipes but the Wasa authorities had procured K 9 class DI pipes from China.
Following this, the commission sought clarification from the LGRD Ministry. Even the first project director of the plant, MA Rashid Siddiqui, was transferred due to protest over the irregularities.
When contacted, Inquiry Officer and ACC Deputy Director Sheikh Abdus Salam did not want to make any comment on the matter. Another official, seeking anonymity, told the Dhaka Tribune that the Wasa MD had been relieved by the ACC for the sake of quick implementation of the project.
The project was initiated to provide clean water to the residents of the capital on priority basis, as ordered by the prime minister. It will cost around Tk3,509 crore.
Of the amount, China Exim Bank will give Tk2,042.36 crore. The government has already started land acquisition for the project.
