Sagar Biswas :
Top officials of Water Development Board and Ministry of Water Resources on Thursday admitted to the Anti-Corruption Commission that there were massive corruption and irregularities in constructing and maintaining dams in the country’s haor belt.
Being summoned by the ACC, four officials, including Director General of WDB Jahangir Kabir, Additional Director General Abdul Hai, Superintendent Engineer Harun-ar Rashid and Joint Secretary of Water Resources Ministry Khalilur Rahman went to ACC Headquarters at Segun Bagicha in the city at 12:30 pm.
A high-powered team of ACC led by its Director General Md Munir Chowdhury quizzed the four officials for over three hours in connection with massive financial corruption, negligence and delay in constructing dams. ACC Director Belal Hossain was also present at that time.
The officials during the interrogation also confessed their incapability in completing the embankment projects in the haor areas, particularly in Sunamganj district, in the due time.
Sources close to the ACC told The New Nation that the officials were mainly asked about the irregularities in constructing and maintaining the dams in the haor areas reported by the newspapers in the recent years.
Against this backdrop, the ACC had asked the WDB authorities to submit a report about the dams by February last year. But the officials concerned could not submit the report. In contrary, they submitted an incomplete report to the ACC this year. So, the four officials were summoned by ACC to know the reason, the sources said.
“During the interrogation, the officials, including WDB DG Jahangir Kabir, confessed their irregularities and negligence in constructing dams, which caused unprecedented flash flood with damaging crops on several lakh hectares of land,” said ACC DG Md Munir Chowdhury.
“The enlisted contractors were also involved in the large-scale financial corruption. The accused persons would have to face punishments for their misdeeds as per the country’s existing law,” the ACC DG further said.
Officials said there are 2200 kilometers of dam in Sylhet division where 1450 kilometers are in Sunamganj district. This year, the dams were breached at different points for allegedly not completing works by the contractors and lack of monitoring by WDB Engineers.
The WDB officials, on the other hand, refrained from making any comment when they were repeatedly asked by the newsmen about the interrogation by the ACC.
It is learnt that ACC Chairman Iqbal Mahmud had sent a letter to WDB about the alleged corruption and irregularities just within a month he got charge. But WDB failed to give any satisfactory answer.
This year, the ‘boro’ crops in the vast wetlands of Kishoreganj, Sylhet, Sunamganj, Habiganj, Moulvibazar and Netrakona went under deep water following the collapse of embankments making the farmers totally helpless.
On April 30, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina while visiting Sunamganj cautioned that stern action would be taken against the persons who would be found involved in corruption and irregularities in constructing dams of the haors.
Top officials of Water Development Board and Ministry of Water Resources on Thursday admitted to the Anti-Corruption Commission that there were massive corruption and irregularities in constructing and maintaining dams in the country’s haor belt.
Being summoned by the ACC, four officials, including Director General of WDB Jahangir Kabir, Additional Director General Abdul Hai, Superintendent Engineer Harun-ar Rashid and Joint Secretary of Water Resources Ministry Khalilur Rahman went to ACC Headquarters at Segun Bagicha in the city at 12:30 pm.
A high-powered team of ACC led by its Director General Md Munir Chowdhury quizzed the four officials for over three hours in connection with massive financial corruption, negligence and delay in constructing dams. ACC Director Belal Hossain was also present at that time.
The officials during the interrogation also confessed their incapability in completing the embankment projects in the haor areas, particularly in Sunamganj district, in the due time.
Sources close to the ACC told The New Nation that the officials were mainly asked about the irregularities in constructing and maintaining the dams in the haor areas reported by the newspapers in the recent years.
Against this backdrop, the ACC had asked the WDB authorities to submit a report about the dams by February last year. But the officials concerned could not submit the report. In contrary, they submitted an incomplete report to the ACC this year. So, the four officials were summoned by ACC to know the reason, the sources said.
“During the interrogation, the officials, including WDB DG Jahangir Kabir, confessed their irregularities and negligence in constructing dams, which caused unprecedented flash flood with damaging crops on several lakh hectares of land,” said ACC DG Md Munir Chowdhury.
“The enlisted contractors were also involved in the large-scale financial corruption. The accused persons would have to face punishments for their misdeeds as per the country’s existing law,” the ACC DG further said.
Officials said there are 2200 kilometers of dam in Sylhet division where 1450 kilometers are in Sunamganj district. This year, the dams were breached at different points for allegedly not completing works by the contractors and lack of monitoring by WDB Engineers.
The WDB officials, on the other hand, refrained from making any comment when they were repeatedly asked by the newsmen about the interrogation by the ACC.
It is learnt that ACC Chairman Iqbal Mahmud had sent a letter to WDB about the alleged corruption and irregularities just within a month he got charge. But WDB failed to give any satisfactory answer.
This year, the ‘boro’ crops in the vast wetlands of Kishoreganj, Sylhet, Sunamganj, Habiganj, Moulvibazar and Netrakona went under deep water following the collapse of embankments making the farmers totally helpless.
On April 30, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina while visiting Sunamganj cautioned that stern action would be taken against the persons who would be found involved in corruption and irregularities in constructing dams of the haors.
