The Housing and Public Works Ministry this time has directed Rajuk to allocate plots in Uttara, Purbachal and Jhilmil residential projects for 34 people under a special government quota.
The plots total 156 kathas of land and nearly one-fourth of the 34 are officials of the ministry, including senior assistant secretaries, and personal secretaries to ministers and secretaries, want to own plots in Uttara. There are also a few bureaucrats and politicians.
Article 13/a of the allocation policy has been cited in allocating the plots, but sources at the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) say the quotas have been fulfilled and there is now no scope for further allocations.
A letter containing the names of all the people was sent to Rajuk on July 14. It was signed by Shyamoli Nabi, senior assistant secretary of administration 6 under the ministry, who herself is taking a plot as well.
The letter urged officials to allocate plots for the people as per the projects and sizes mentioned next to their names.
Eight of them are Housing and Public Works Ministry officials – Joint Secretary SM Arif-Ur-Rahman (five kathas in Uttara), Joint Secretary Md Ahsan Habib Talukder (five kathas in Uttara), Personal Secretary to the minister Faiyez Ahmed (five kathas in Uttara), Deputy Secretary Jillur Rahim Shahriar (three kathas in Uttara), Deputy Secretary Shabiha Pervin (three kathas in Uttara), Deputy Secretary Shaila Farzana (three kathas in Uttara), Senior Assistant Secretary Khondaker Manoar Morshed (three kathas in Uttara) and Shamoly Nabi (three kathas in Uttara).
In the past, government officials and workers were allocated plots in separate categories. However, a separate category in the name of the Housing and Public Works Ministry was created and its officials were allocated plots under special consideration.
The ministry again took the lead this time in terms of allocating plots under special consideration.
Bureaucrats appearing on the list include Bangladesh High Commissioner to India, Tariq A Karim (7.5 kathas in Purbachal), Additional Secretary at the Commerce Ministry ATM Murtoza Reza Chowdhury (five kathas in Jhilmil), and Managing Director and CEO of Sonali Bank’s main branch in Dhaka Pradip Kumar Dutta (7.5 kathas in Purbachal).
Other names included in the list are Awami League Organising Secretary Sazzad Sakib Badshah (three kathas in Uttara), Begum Afia Khanam Chowdhury (7.5 kathas in Purbachal), Monoranjan Ghoshal (three kathas in Uttara), Azharul Islam (three kathas in Uttara), Gazi Abu Sayeed (three kathas in Uttara), Rasel Ahmed (10 kathas in Purbachal), Sharna Hamid (7.5 kathas in Purbachal), Farida Akter Kawsar (three kathas in Uttara) and former lawmaker Sharif Khashruzzaman (five kathas in Uttara).
The list has six names from Chittagong, the constituency of the Housing and Public Works Minister. They are Yunus Goni Chowdhury (three kathas in Uttara), Md Mosaddek Hossain (three kathas in Uttara), Md Mir Alam (three kathas in Uttara), Nurul Huda (three kathas in Uttara), Jahangir Kabir Chowdhury (three kathas in Uttara) and Abul Bashar (five kathas in Purbachal).
The letter also contained some names but their details were not mentioned. They are SM Mustafa Rashid (five kathas in Uttara), Md Jamal Ullah (five kathas in Jhilmil), Serniabat Ashik Abdullah (three kathas in Uttara), Sheikh Fazlur Rahman Maruf (7.5 kathas in Purbachal),
Sheikh Belal Uddin (7.5 kathas in Purbachal), Nizam Uddin Chowdhury (five kathas in Jhilmil), Absar Uddin Ahmed Khan (five kathas in Uttara) and Serniabat Moin Abdullah (three kathas in Uttara).
A total of 10,911 plots under three residential projects of Rajuk have been allocated till March this year after the Awami League assumed power in 2009. Of those, the Housing and Public Works Ministry allocated 1,283 plots among party men, including ministers, parliamentarians, top government officials and journalists, in the name of reserved quota without arranging any lottery.
One hundred and ten plots in Uttara third phase project, 920 in Purbachal New Town project and 253 in Jhilmil residential project were earlier allocated under the government’s special consideration. Of the 34 plots this time, 23 are in Uttara, eight in Purbachal and three in Jhilmil.
The allocation of plots was discussed at the board meeting of Rajuk when it received the letter from the ministry but no decision was taken. Rajuk high-ups are now discussing how they can allocate the plots to comply with the ministry’s order.
Rajuk officials said the chairman is busy with his foreign tour scheduled for this week.
