Five cabinet members have not responded to the request of the House Committee which asked the ministers either to vacate the apartments allotted to them as MPs or pay the house rent they get from the government.
The ministers have received accommodation facilities from the government.
The 10th Jatiya Sangsad’s House Committee, which was tasked to ensure accommodation for all MPs, decided that the ministers would not be eligible to get apartments from the parliament authorities if they got such facilities from the government.
LGRD Minister Syed Ashraful Islam, Fisheries and Livestock Minister Sayedul Haque, Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan, Land Minister Shamsur Rahman Sharif and State Minister for Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs Bir Bahadur U Shwe Sing, however, did not hand over the apartments to the authorities concerned.
Only Promod Mankin, the state minister for social welfare, informed the House Committee that he would pay the house allowance to the parliament secretariat and live in the apartment (block 4, apartment 301).
He would therefore not get any house from the government.
Deputy Minister for Environment Abdullah Al Islam Jakob was living in apartment 903 (block 6) since he did not receive any house from the government. However, he did not clarify if he would deposit the house allowance to the parliament authorities or not.
Chief Whip ASM Feroz yesterday talked to Deputy Speaker Fazle Rabbi who suggested House Committee look into the matter. The chief whip is ex-officio head of the House Committee.
“He (chief whip) came to me and I saw the list of the ministers who were living in the apartments. I thought the honourable ministers would respect the rules,” Fazle Rabbi told the Dhaka Tribune at his office yesterday.
According to the report of the hostel wing, Sayedul Haque was given apartment 102 in block 4 at NAM village in front of the Jatiya Sangsad. But his apartment had been put under lock and key.
It was the same case for Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan whose apartment (block 4, apartment 404) had been unused for months.
One of Syed Ashraful Islam’s brothers lives in the apartment (block 4, apartment 402). Shamsur Rahman Sharif’s son lives in apartment 403 (block 403).
“The apartment given to me as MP is currently under lock and key. What I can assure you is that I will comply with the rules,” Shajahan Khan said.
The House Committee prepared a list in February this year. It showed that 30 ministers used to live in the apartments in NAM village.
Till August 19, only seven ministers live in NAM villages in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar and Nakhalpara areas.
