Dinajpur Municipal Projects
False projects eat up Tk 71 lakh
ACC investigating the scam
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) office at Dinajpur is investigating the alleged misappropriation of Tk 71 lakh showing false projects by erstwhile chairman and commissioners during the 2001-2002 fiscal.
The ACC has already collected documents related with the allegation.
Bangladesh Telephone and Telegraph Board (BTTB) dug up different roads under Dinajpur Municipality for setting up underground wire for converting its telephone exchange from analogue to digital during 2001-2002 year, municipality sources said.
After completing the underground wiring work, Dinajpur T and T office paid out Tk 70,61,192 to Dinajpur Municipality to reconstruct the excavated roads under Dinajpur Municipality area in the same year.
But erstwhile chairman of Dinajpur Municipality, Md Mosaddeque Hossain Labu aided by municipality commissioners allegedly misappropriated the money through making forge documents for 13 false projects for which no tender was invited, ACC sources said.
Former chairman Labu and the commissioners, however, claimed innocence and said the money was spent through an official process to reconstruct roads excavated by T and T office.
Dinajpur ACC sources said they started investigation for alleged embezzlement of Tk 71 lakh by the former chairman and commissioners of Dinajpur Municipality following instructions from the ACC offices in Dhaka and Bogra.
On September 1, Dinajpur ACC issued a letter to municipality Mayor Md Shafiqul Haque Chhutu seeking documents related with embezzlement of Tk 71 lakh and Dinajpur Municipality authorities on September 4 submitted the related documents to Dinajpur ACC.
After receiving Tk 71 lakh from T and T office, Dinajpur Municipality authorities held a meeting presided over by Md Mosaddeque Hossain Labu on January 30 in 2001 to decide about expenditure of the T and T department money, municipality sources said.
They prepared two resolutions of a single meeting that discussed 17 items to endorse the project rationally, ACC sources said.
In second resolution the meeting included it 'decision' to spend the T and T money through 13 different package projects and showed that they gave the contract to repair the road through 13 registered contractors under Dinajpur Municipality.
No such work was, however, done, sources said, adding that municipality authorities sent the first resolution to LGRD in Dhaka hiding the second resolution that 'approved' the work order of the 13 projects keeping the 13 contractors concerned in the dark.
On February 19 in 2002, Dinajpur Municipality authorities issued 13 cheques in the name of the 13 contactors through Janata Bank Bahadurbazar branch.
But sources claimed that the money against the cheques was collected by persons other than the contractors.
The 13 listed contactors of the project programme including Md Alauddin, Md Sabbir Hossain and Md Akram Ali appeared at ACC Dinajpur office on September 14 last claiming that they knew nothing about the project and they did not collect any cheque or cash for the purpose.
Dinajpur municipality sources said municipality authorities repair or reconstruct its roads on a regular basis with the money from its own annual budget and the then authorities misappropriated the money from T and T office showing the routine works.
Officials of Dinajpur ACC office declined to make any comments over the issue.
Former municipality chairman Labu, however, claimed that the works completed through 13 project contractors and engineering department and local commissioners issued certificates after inspecting the works. He also added that he issued 13 joint signature cheques.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments