Editorial
Things foul in Rajshahi
Corporation and MP must explain
Moves to construct a 16-storey city centre on land owned by the Rajshahi City Corporation, as a leading Bengali language newspaper reports, without a proper approval of the plan by the Rajshahi Development Authority naturally arouses huge public concern. What adds to the worry is the manner in which the city corporation reached a deal with the construction firm Ena Properties, owned by ruling party lawmaker Enamul Haq. Some very serious questions arise here and they need to be addressed in the larger public interest.
The first question relates to the apparent conflict of interest involved in MP Enamul Haq's acquisition of the land in the name of his organisation. With all the queries being raised in these past many months about property owned by public figures, it is now important to inquire into the nature of the commercial interests of the lawmaker in question. Another crucial question relates to how the city corporation, which again is headed by a ruling party individual, permitted Ena Properties to construct the city centre despite the fact that no tender other than that of the MP's firm was submitted earlier. We understand that six other firms had collected forms but in the end stayed away from making any submissions. That raises a further question: were those firms intimidated into staying away out of fear of arousing the ire of the MP? More importantly, if a call for tenders yields a poor response, it is the convention for fresh tenders to be called. Why was such a procedure ignored here?
And that is not all. Ena Properties commenced construction work on the city centre despite the RDA's reservations about its building plans. In the 22 months which have elapsed since the MP's firm was given the contract, only the base of the centre has been worked on -- and illegally at that. Questions abound too on the fundamentals of the agreement between Ena Properties. Where the city corporation should hold 40 per cent share of the property once it is developed, one notes that the MP's firm will have control over 75 per cent, with the corporation given only 25 per cent.
The public expect a credible response to these inquiries. Accountability is called for.
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