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Believe It Or Not!

Govt secy pays only Tk 5,850 per month for 3,000sqft duplex house in city

Published : Thursday, 8 February, 2024 at 12:00 AM  Count : 526
Mamunur Rashid
Believe it or not! The rent of a duplex house in a posh area of the capital is only Tk 5,850. Entering the house, anybody will just raise eyebrows seeing its interior decor on the ground and the first floor.

Learning about the abnormal low rent, many seem to be thinking how it can be possible when a tenant has to count about Tk 5,000 for a small room even on the outskirts of the city.

The surprise will get intensified after knowing about the house located at 40, Bailey Road in Ramna and the tricks applied for its construction and eventual allotment.

The road has three electricity sub-stations to ensure nonstop electricity supply to Montripara (ministries residential area). There was a sub-station-cum-official residence of the Public Works Department (PWD) at the 40, Bailey Road.

Equipments for maintenance of the sub-stations were kept on the ground floor while the first floor was for residential use. But, by abusing power, Secretary of Ministry of Housing and Public Works Kazi Wasi Uddin through a syndicate of the PWD turned it into a duplex house by spending about Tk one crore from the government exchequer.

The Secretary with his family has been living in it for more than one year by paying only Tk 5,885 as monthly rent. By scrutinising documents of the PWD, this information has been found.

Kazi Wasi Uddin said he did not lobby with anyone for allotment of the house. Public Works Department provide this house on request of a former minister, he added.  

Before turning the house into a luxurious duplex, the first floor was allocated to the Executive Engineer of the PWD, Tarikul Islam, from 2017 to 2022. It was learnt that an amount of Tk 26,000 was disabused from his monthly salary as rent.

But, after being promoted to the Secretary to the ministry, Wasi Uddin wished to live in the house, said sources. Then, the syndicate became active to make the Secretary happy, which cancelled the allocation of the executive engineer.

As the engineer refused to leave it, he was forcibly evicted from it by transferring him to another place, said the sources.

Gradually, the house was turned into the luxurious duplex by removing the equipments from the ground floor. Big drawing and dining rooms, two bathrooms and a servants room were made in the floor. On the other hand, three bed rooms and three bathrooms were constructed on the first floor, turning it into a duplex apartment measuring 3,000 square feet. The amount of Tk one crore was spent to complete the work.

An office order of the PWD issued on  December, 26 2022, says, "Upon the decision taken in a meeting of the Public Works Residence Allocation Committee on December 21  2022, the rent of the Bailey Road sub-station-cum-irregular official residence under Dhaka Public Works Circle-1 has been fixed at 7.5 per cent of basic salary of the occupant."

The basic salary of the first grade government officer (secretary or senior secretary) is Tk 78,000. As contractually appointed secretary, the basic salary of Wasi Uddin is also at Tk 78,000 of which 7.5 per cent is Tk 5,885. This amount is being cut from his salary as rent of the duplex house every month.

Earlier, on November 16, 2022, the house was allocated to the Secretary. In an office order, it was stated that Wasi Uddin was allocated the first floor of the sub-station-cum-residence temporarily. On the same day, its rent was fixed in another office order.

Not only with duplex house a government listed abandoned property of Gulshan residential area illegally handed over to the fraud gangs allegedly took a huge amount of extortion money recently. Government listed plot No. 6, Road no 98, Gulshan residential area (former CEN-C-Block) of Dhaka as an abandoned property. The government in 1972 listed the house as an abandoned property.

The house situated on 1 bighas 5 kata 10 chatak of land is worth around Tk 400 crore. The Secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Public Works, the authority of RAJUK were also not following any the government rules for new allotment, according to sources.  

Ministry of Housing and Public Works also handed over illegally another 60 kata land of Tejgoan industrial areas worth Tk 150 crore. Ministry of Housing and Public Works also violated HC court order and government rules, according to sources.   

Kazi Wasi Uddin Secretary at Ministry of Housing and Public Work also pocketed 3 kata land from RAJUK Uttara project, 10 kata land from Purbachal project and 1,850 square feet flat of Dolonchapa project at Lalamtia.



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