Public funds continue to be wasted every year as irregularities and corruption had infested the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) and a large number of its employees over the years.
For a long time, a section of unscrupulous DSCC officials have been showing a large portion of their annual budget as expenditures for various development projects on papers, such as renovation or improving roads and traffic systems, surface drains, playgrounds and open spaces, markets, staff accommodations, social welfare and others, although in reality most of such projects were never taken care of, sources said.
Most of these irregularities take place during allocation of city corporation-owned free spaces, footpaths, market positions (shops), and tenders.
Back in July 2013, the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) also launched a probe into the allegations of irregularities and corruptions in development projects and other sectors of DSCC.
An official of the city corporation, seeking anonymity, told the Dhaka Tribune that most of the officials and employees of DSCC were employed by the then Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) and the new high officials have been appointed on deputation for a certain period.
“That is why the high officials have been acting on a whim to operate the city corporation along with different groups of unscrupulous permanent officials of the corporation.
“Many of the high officials in the city corporation are also involved with corruption. After a certain period, these officials get transferred to other government departments or divisions. For this reason, city dwellers are not getting adequate service from the corporation.” the official alleged.
Every year at the corporation’s budget announcement programme, DSCC high-ups claim of undertaking huge development works and what services they provided using crores in taka from its budget in the previous fiscal year.
However, city people have not been able to agree with these claims as most city services remain in poor state over the years.
Irregularities in development
The DSCC Engineering Department spent Tk256 crore on maintaining roads, surface drains and traffic systems over the last two fiscal years, but most of roads, streets and drains under the corporation’s jurisdiction were not found to be working properly.
Despite expending large sums of public money, DSCC engineering department officials said they were not bound to answer questions from the media, while the corporation’s high-ups said repair work of dilapidated roads and drains were being been delayed due to a lack in sufficient funds.
The DSCC officials also claim to have spent around Tk9 crore for the development of playgrounds and parks in the past two fiscal years, however, existing condition of public recreational places such as playgrounds, parks and open spaces under its jurisdiction show no significant reflection of such claims.
Locals in different areas of DSCC jurisdiction have alleged that most of the open spaces under the DSCC have virtually gone off-limits to children and youngsters due to illegal occupations and lack of monitoring, development and maintenance.
Besides, few officials of DSCC and Arkay Group have allegedly been rampantly plundering the capital’s Panthakunja park for over a decade.
Sources said, corrupt officials of Arkay Multimedia and DSCC revenue department have been jointly using the public park for the last 11 years and have already chopped down several trees and dismantled lamp posts inside the park premises.
The old Dhaka’s English Road park also lies in the same condition as it has been kept occupied by a group of local truck owners for several years.
Tender fraud of a development project
A syndicate of few DSCC officials have allegedly embezzled a large sum of public money through illegally awarding tenders for nominal repairs of roads and surface drains under a project of the city corporation in 2012.
The Dhaka Tribune found a copy of an invitation for tender, which came with a reference number 46.207.016.24.02.001.2012 and without a logo, asking proposals for repairing damaged roads and drains in Mothertek, Basabo, Kadamtola, Rajarbagh, Mugdha, Motijheel and Kamlapur area of the capital.
Sources said former executive engineer of DSCC Zone-2 (Khilgaon) Kazi Borhan Uddin, who was assigned for the project, and DSCC Public Relations Officer (PRO) Uttam Kumar Roy made a fake tender notice and awarded the work to an unknown construction company on their own without actually publishing the tender in any national daily.
The syndicate also reportedly embezzled a large sum from DSCC’s funds by showing various bills even before the work of the project even began. Sources said many other officials related to the project also received a share of the embezzled amount.
When asked, DSCC PRO Uttam Kumar Roy told the Dhaka Tribune: “We are not concerned over media reports. You can write whatever drama you can think of.”
He also claimed that the tender was published in two national dailies, although the Dhaka Tribune found that no such proof on the said date.
Markets’ possessions occupied
Possession of over seven hundred newly-built shops in different DSCC markets, such as Jaker Super Market, Phulbaria Super Market 1 and 2, Kaptanbazar Market, among others, had been kept occupied by ruling party men in collaboration with few corrupted DSCC officials and employees, sources said.
Earlier former DCC mayor and BNP leader Sadek Sadek Hossain Khoka has also been accused for irregularities and corruption in this regard. The Anti Corruption Commission has also lodged a case against Khoka.
Other accused in the same case were former chief estate officer of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC), former estate officer Mohsin Uddin Morol and DCC employees Shahab Uddin Shabu, Mohammad Ali, Md Bachchu Miah, Faruq Hossain and Motaleb Hossain.
Illegally footpath leasing
In 2013, DSCC violated rules to allocate footpath space on the city’s Kazi Alauddin Road in the Phulbaria area to leaders from the ruling party. Former officials of estate department of the city corporation had illegally allotted space on the road in front of Central Veterinary Hospital and west side of Fire Brigade Office of Phulbaria in the capital, city corporation sources said.
Besides, in collaboration with DSCC former chief estate officer Jamal Hussain, another group of ruling party men had built business establishments after grabbing footpath space near the Ramna Telephone Exchange building in Gulistan, violating a High Court order.
Earlier in 2012, the HC asked the DSCC to take steps against any encroachment on the footpath from the capital’s Zero point towards Sadarghat. The notice also said any business would not be allowed to run on public walkways in future.
Cleaners’ colony scandal
The DSCC’s cleaners’ colony construction project could be a unique example of how a government official callously built buildings, which was to accommodate 8,500 people, and have been enjoying impunity year after year after huge flaws were found in the construction following a disaster.
In 2005, DCC launched a Tk209 million project for constructing cleaners’ colony in three separate areas of the capital comprising a total 12 buildings, four-storey each. The assigned project director had started construction work of nine buildings simultaneously in 2006. But in May 2007, one of the under-construction buildings collapsed suddenly.
Later, the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec) decided that the fate of the project would depend on a verification report from the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED). According to IMED, Tk122 million from the state funds was lost in the project.
Sources said, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at an Ecnec meeting expressed her dissatisfaction as strict action was not taken against the accused project director, Mesbah-ul Karim, who was also the then executive engineer of Dhaka City Corporation.
In the meeting, the premier strictly ordered LGD high officials to take action against the project director. Surprisingly, Mesbah has now been attached to the DNCC.
When contacted, DSCC Chief Engineer Md Zahangir Alam refused to answer questions put by the Dhaka Tribune regarding the issue.
On many occasions, city corporation officials refuse to answer queries of the media saying that anyone seeking information has to file an application under the Rights to Information Act after discussing the issue with the public relations officer.
Such formal processes of seeking information are usually a month-long procedure.
When asked, DSCC PRO Uttam Kumar Roy asked: “What is the use of writing such reports? Has anything ever happened to anyone after a report?”
Rejecting the allegations, DSCC Chief Executive Officer Md Ansar Ali Khan said: “It is not true that all of the departments of the corporation were involve with corruption.”
“All the activities of tender fraud and shops allocations were done before my joining, so I do not know anything in this regard,” he said.
DSCC Administrator Md Ibraheem Hosein Khan was not found available to comment over the allegations despite repeated attempts were made to reach him over the phone.
