LGRD ministry forms committee to probe CCC leadership dispute

The local government ministry has launched an investigation into the escalating administrative conflict between the Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) Mayor Shahadat Hossain and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sheikh Muhammad Touhidul Islam, a dispute that has paralysed parts of the civic body.

A two-member probe committee was formed Sunday to examine the dispute, including the mayor's letter seeking the transfer of the CEO, and the CEO's application to rejoin duty.

According to sources at the local government ministry and the CCC, the committee will be headed by Additional Secretary Suraiya Akhter Jahan. Deputy Secretary Md. Firoz Mahmud is the member secretary.

The official order, signed by the deputy secretary mandates the committee to investigate the dispute. However, the order did not specify a deadline for submitting the final report.

The conflict stemmed from when Mayor Shahadat refused to accept the CEO's joining report after he returned from advanced training leave on October 22. Instead, he assigned Secretary Mohammad Ashraful Amin as the acting Chief Executive Officer.

In a written note dated October 30, CEO Sheikh Muhammad Touhidul Islam informed the Local Government Division that he was being prevented from rejoining his post, CCC sources said.

The administrative tension intensified earlier this month when Mayor Shahadat issued a letter on November 2, seeking the transfer of Touhidul.

Today, the mayor confirmed the probe committee's formation to The Daily Star over the phone from London.

The mayor issued a show-cause notice to the CEO on October 27, the first such move in the history of CCC, accusing him of negligence of duty in investigating allegations of holding tax fraud involving two companies. The CEO was given 15 working days to respond, but has not yet replied, CCC sources confirmed.

On October 30, the pro-BNP Labour Union besieged the CCC office, demanding the CEO's removal within 7 days. Since then, Touhidul has stopped attending the office.

During a prior conversation with The Daily Star, the CEO defended himself, saying, "The responsibility for not submitting the investigation report on time lies with the probe committee. I am being purposefully blamed here."

Mayor Shahadat told The Daily Star, the corruption issue emerged in 2023. "It was his (CEO) duty to hold the committee accountable for their delay. Instead, he attempted to cover up this corruption."

On October 22, the mayor ordered all divisional heads to route files through the CCC secretary for mayoral approval until the CEO's joining report was accepted, effectively sidelining the chief executive officer.