Dhaka South City Corporation’s (DSCC) office Nagar Bhaban was run by the allusion of former MP Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh until the ouster of AL lead government on August 5.
Despite having a separate committee for recruitment, budget, project planning and implementation, Taposh was the ultimate decider. Now a flurry of allegations is being made against him including, keeping DSCC’s money in personal account, and appointing his pet party leaders and activists in DSCC.
However, the whereabouts of the once powerful mayor of DSCC have not been confirmed as he is hiding out since the fall of Awami League. But a source close to him told the media on condition of anonymity that he is currently hiding in Singapore.
Increases project spending using power
In the name of renovation, Shahbagh Shishu Park has been neglected for a long period. Later, in 2018, the ministry of liberation war affairs sent a letter to DSCC, saying that the ministry will allocate 78 crores of taka for renovation and modernization of the park. Then DSCC mayor Sayeed Khokon denied the proposal.
The proposal drew the attention of Taposh after he took the office as the corporation mayor in 2020. Overpassing the proposal of the ministry, he created a new project of 603 crores 81 lakh taka for modernization of the park.
Using his muscle power and political influence, he managed the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) approval for the project in August 2023.
Of that money the government will provide Tk483 crore. Half of the amount would be a grant while the rest would be given as a loan, the ECNEC meeting decided. And Tk120 crore would be spent from the DSCC’s own funds.
Sources said: “The three-year project was taken into account because of the interest of then mayor Taposh and some senior officials at DSCC. He also made arrangements for a quick pass from the ECNEC.”
After the fall of Sheikh Hasina led government, the work of the project came to a standstill.
The recruiter
During his tenure as mayor, most of the recruitments at DSCC were made based on party and Taposh’s considerations.
In November 2022, former president of Dhanmondi Thana Chhatra League Abdullah Asif was appointed as the “Assistant Secretary” at the city corporation. Not only Asif, but also 200 people like him have been appointed in various positions between June 2020 and July 2024.
According to sources, during his tenure at DSCC, 813 people were permanently recruited, while another 296 people appointed temporarily.
The city corporation official said: “People who were appointed based on party consideration were made to pass the written exams in an unfair manner.”
“Between 2020 and 2024, Taposh used to decide who is getting the appointment letter in which position.”
After scrutinizing, Taposh would send a list of preferred candidates to DSCC secretary Akramuzzaman, and the secretary used to make an appointment list accordingly, the official said.
However, Akramuzzaman was deputed as the secretary of the corporation after Taposh took the office in 2020. He also didn’t visit the city hall after August 5. However, the interim government transferred Akramuzzaman to the Bangladesh Handloom Board.
However, when contacted, Akramuzzaman refused to talk on these allegations.
Tender manipulation
Partisans and the mayor's beloved people did all the purchasing work, including development work including development work of DSCC. Hence, they get the Tk540-crore work without any competition.
Sources said: “A lot of projects are not completed on time due to incompetence of the developer, resulting in sufferings of the city dwellers.”
“Who would be given which project was decided in advance- the tender was just a formality.”
“About Tk375 crore 86 lakh development work has been implemented in this process. Another Tk164 crore 62 lakh project is under implementation,” the source added.
Seeking anonymity, some officials of DSCC’s engineering department said: “Mayor used to call the concerned engineers and provide instructions on who to give which project to. Later the people who got the project fixed an incompetent contractor for the work in return for a certain amount.”
According to the engineering department of the corporation, Taposh gave several projects to Dhaka South City Awami League president Abu Ahmed Mannafi, and general secretary Humayun Kabir through illegal means. Off those projects, a Tk25-crore project that includes the construction of two basements and an underground of a multi-storey building in Gulistan given to Monnafi has not been completed yet.
AL’s presidium member Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya was given a Tk30-crore project.
It is also known that the project is also divided among the partisan people of AL’s associated organizations. For example; Swechasebak League leader Kamrul Hasan got the Dhanmondi Lake Renovation project which cost Tk15 crore.
Apart from this, Taposh’s ‘trusted’ counselors also received various projects including road renovation. Later most of the councilors used to get these projects done by the local AL, Jubo League and Chhatra League leaders and activists.
6 cars cost 2 crore
Taposh used three DSCC cars for himself and his family members. In addition, violating the rules, he allocated two cars for two of the officials appointed based on party consideration, and one for the mayor's personal assistant. The corporation spent about Tk 2 crore on fuel for those six cars in 51 months.
The mayor will get a car for himself from the city corporation, the rule says.
A source said that Taposh used to send a car to bring his lunch from home. And 20 liters of octane was allocated for every single day. He spent about Tk28 lakh 5 thousand worth octane in 51 months only to bring food from home to office.
Except for Fridays and Saturdays, 440 liters of octane were allocated for the car per month. The car cost Tk 55 thousand per month on fuel and Tk6 lakh 60 thousand per year.
DSCC administrator Md Nazrul Islam and chief executive officer Mizanur Rahman could not be reached for comment despite repeated calls. An official of DSCC said, “They don’t want to get into an embarrassing situation by talking about the former mayor's corruption.”
(Source: Kaler Kantho)
Translated by Afsar Munna
