Fouzul Kabir Khan, adviser to the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges, has described the allocation of flats to secretaries at nominal prices on government-acquired land, along with the acquisition of additional land for this purpose, as “irregular.”
He told Dhaka Tribune on Saturday evening that the Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) has been asked to submit an investigative report within three days. “If the allegations are proven, action will be taken accordingly,” he said.
“I’ve come to know about government-purchased land being used to provide secretaries with low-cost flats. At first glance, this appears to be irregular. That’s why I’ve sought a report to understand how this was done and through what process,” the adviser added.
He further said that he had learned that objections were raised in the past regarding flats being allocated to secretaries on government land, and that the High Court had issued a stay order at one point.
However, that order was later lifted on appeal. “All these matters will now be reviewed, and appropriate action will follow,” he said.
He added: “Since this issue dates back several years, it’s not possible to comment further without seeing the report.”
Bridge Authority board and project background
Sources within the Bridge Authority explained that it is an autonomous government agency governed by a 15-member board.
The minister or adviser of the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges serves as its chair by virtue of position, while the remaining 14 members are secretaries from various ministries.
The secretary of the Bridge Division also serves concurrently as the BBA’s executive director.
The board includes secretaries from the Ministries of Defence, Road Transport and Highways, Home, Power, Land, Water Resources, Finance, Economic Relations, Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs, Planning Commission’s Physical Infrastructure Division, Energy and Mineral Resources, and Railways.
On May 31, 2018, the 107th board meeting of the Bridge Authority approved a policy for constructing flats for secretaries and officials.
Almost all members of the board at that time, as well as those who succeeded them, received flats.
The board had justified the decision by claiming that some land acquired for resettlement was left unused and had no alternative use.
The flats were reportedly constructed under the national housing policy for government officials. However, there is no provision in the Bridge Authority Act allowing the agency to construct buildings and allocate flats in this manner.
Since the housing project was initiated in 2018, secretaries such as Khandker Anwarul Islam, Belayet Hossain, Abu Bakar Siddique, Monjur Hossain, and current Railways Secretary Fahimul Islam have held dual roles as secretary and executive director of the Bridge Division.
All of them received flats in buildings constructed on land acquired under the Dhaka Elevated Expressway compensation project.
The current secretary, Abdur Rouf, took office on February 26 and has not yet taken a flat.
Excess land acquisition
Allegations have also emerged that additional land was acquired with the intent of building flats for officials.
According to the Bridge Authority, about 206 acres of land were acquired for the Dhaka Elevated Expressway project. Of this, around 177 acres were government-owned—mostly railway land—while only 29 acres were privately owned.
However, 40 acres were acquired in Uttara for the resettlement of affected individuals.
Currently, land prices in Uttara are estimated between Tk1.3 crore and Tk1.5 crore per decimal, based on the prices of land sold by Rajuk.
Flat recipients
According to media reports, the Dhaka Elevated Expressway project was launched in 2010 under a public-private partnership (PPP) model and is still ongoing.
As part of this, a "resettlement village" is being built on 40 acres of acquired land in Uttara’s Sector 18.
Twelve buildings are being constructed with a total of 1,344 flats for affected individuals.
Among these, four buildings are being built on 1.15 acres, including Padma, Meghna, and Jamuna buildings, each containing 168 flats of 1,600 square feet.
These flats have been allocated to secretaries and senior officials. One building is reserved for Bridge Authority employees.
Bridge Division sources say 140 flats have already been allocated. The remaining 28 flats are planned for future distribution among secretaries and senior officials, including 32 current and former officials at secretary rank.
Among them, four are still in service, two are working with the World Bank and ADB on contract post-retirement, and 26 are fully retired.
Apart from secretaries, additional secretaries, joint secretaries, deputy secretaries, and even personal staff of the former minister Obaidul Quader have received flats.
Recipients include former cabinet secretaries Khandker Anwarul Islam and Mahbub Hossain, former Bangladesh Bank governor Abdur Rouf Talukder, former principal secretary to the PM Ahmad Kaikaus, and former Election commissioner Anisur Rahman.
Some officials who were not members of the Bridge Board, including those from the ministries of Public Administration, Finance, Defence, Home, Land, and the IMED, as well as officials from the Dhaka DC office, also received flats.
There are indications that the remaining flats—after allocations to affected individuals—may also be allocated to other government employees.
A policy revision was proposed at the end of the last Awami League government term to allow this, but the policy was not finalized.
Secretaries’ flats priced below market value
According to media reports, the resettlement project was originally initiated in October 2011 with a budget of Tk3,217 crore. Though it was supposed to be completed in 2014, the latest cost stands at Tk4,918 crore.
The flats for secretaries are being built under this same resettlement project. Each 1,600-square-foot flat for secretaries has been priced at Tk60 lakh.
Employee flats (around 1,200 square feet) are priced at Tk45 lakh.
Recipients have been allowed to pay in easy instalments ranging from Tk175,000 to Tk375,000.
However, according to real estate developers, flats in that area now cost Tk12,000 to Tk15,000 per square foot—making a 1,600-square-foot flat worth between Tk1.92 crore and Tk2.4 crore.
Meanwhile, the resettlement flats for the actually affected individuals range from 1,100 to 1,300 square feet and are priced at Tk45 to Tk54 lakh, to be paid in full at once.
Essentially, secretaries are getting better-constructed flats at similar or lower prices—and with easier payment terms.
While Rajuk and the National Housing Authority typically distribute flats via public lotteries open to all, the flats under the Bridge Authority’s project are being exclusively distributed among government officials.
What the Bridge Authority says
Bangladesh Bridge Authority Executive Director Md Abdur Rouf told Dhaka Tribune: “I only joined a few months ago and am not aware of all the details. I learned about this after the media reports. The adviser has asked us to submit a detailed report within three days. We’ve already begun working on it and hope to submit the report within the next two days.”
