The interim government’s purchase proposals for the flat project for the families of the โJuly martyrsโ exceed all previous instances of overestimation and corruption.
When verifying the proposed cost of the project, it is seen that the additional cost of purchasing each component has been shown to be from a minimum of two and a half times to a maximum of 45 times.
The proposal for a flat project named โ36 Julyโ is being presented in the ECNEC meeting on July 27.
Journalists and officials say the project is being implemented without following proper rules and regulations. For this, even unusual prices have been proposed for various expenses of the project under the patronage of Adviser Adilur Rahman Khan.
The National Housing Authority (NHA) under the Housing and Public Works Ministry will build the flats on government land in Mirpurโs Section 14 of the capital. Under the proposed plan, six 14-storey and ten 10-storey buildings will be constructed to accommodate a total of 804 flats, estimated at Tk762 crore.
Each of the flats will be 1,355 square feet in size, consisting of two bedrooms, a drawing room, a living room, a dining room, a kitchen, and three bathrooms.
Apart from a flat, each of the martyrsโ families is being granted a one-time payment of Tk30 lakh, in addition to a monthly allowance of Tk20,000. Of this amount, Tk10 lakh is being disbursed in the current (2024-25) fiscal year, while the remaining Tk20 lakh will be given in the next fiscal year (2025-26).
The NHA will also build 1,560 flats for the critically injured protesters, or Category-A โJuly warriors,โ on government land at Mirpur 9 by 2029. The project cost is estimated at Tk1,344 crore.
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These flats will be 1,250 square feet, having two bedrooms, a drawing room, a living room, a dining room, a kitchen and three toilets. There will be one room only for the injured person, who is disabled or has lost eyesight, with related facilities for them.
Under an ordinance, official lists of martyrs and injured individuals will be recognised as legally binding. Earlier, the government published the gazette of the 834 martyrs on January 15 and another list of 10,642 injured on February 27.
However, there have been a lot of criticisms over the inclusion of over 200 fake martyrs and around 1,500 fake injuries.
Irregularities and blame game
Zahidul Islam, an investigative reporter for the daily Janakantha, revealed the massive blunders in the flat project for the deceased.
The report said no policy, master plan, or design has been formulated for the project so far. On June 16, the Project Evaluation Committee (PEC) meeting of the Planning Commission highlighted the various complexities of the flat project for the martyr’s family.
The proposal did not have information on how the ownership of the flat will be determined, and who will be the heir to the martyr.
A senior Planning Commission official present at the meeting said that for the operation of each project, rules and regulations, guidelines, what will be achieved from the project, and who will be the beneficiariesโall information must be available from the beginning to the end. These issues are helpful in achieving the project’s goals. But in this case, it was not seen.
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An official of the General Economics Department present at the PEC meeting said that if a project is to be taken up, there must be a clear written description of what kind of impact it will have on the environment and ecosystem, what the master plan is, and for whom it is being allocated.
โWe did not get them in this project. It seems that the project was taken in a hurry. We have talked about revising the DPP in the project. In addition, it seems that the feasibility study, output determination, and project log frame were not appropriate. Therefore, we have also talked about revising these issues before the DPP,โ the official said, seeking anonymity.
Kabir Ahmed, head of the Physical Infrastructure Department (Additional Secretary), said: โWe have received the project to allocate flats for the injured. It seems that the DPP was not done properly. Amendments have been made to fix the shortcomings. It will be raised in the ECNEC through the concerned ministry. Approval may be given there.โ
NHA Secretary Mandeep Gharai was contacted, but he said he did not know anything about this project.
The supervising engineer involved in the project, Harizur Rahman, also said he was not aware of the project plan and asked to contact the executive engineer of the planning wing, Abu Huraira.
When contacted, Abu Huraira told the reporter to visit the office of the NHA chairman on Sunday to talk. When he was informed about the allegations of overcharging in the preparation of the DPP, he told this reporter that the estimate for the preparation of the DPP comes from the field office.
But when the reporter said that it is his responsibility to verify the estimate of the DPP, even if it comes from the field office, he did not respond.
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Meanwhile, a source said that although there is no policy in the preparation of the project, it will get approval soon even though there are overestimations. Everything is already finalised.
Unrealistic estimation of RCC wall
The news report said the cost of an RCC pillar worth Tk900 has been estimated at Tk40,000, lifts worth Tk25 lakh are shown as Tk92 lakh, Tk63 lakh for the substation worth Tk12 lakh, and Tk4.5 lakh for a water pump worth Tk95,000.
That is, in this project, the boundary wall is being constructed at a cost of 45 times more, the bed lift four times more, the substation five times more, and even the water pump has been estimated to cost five times more.
When the reporter spoke to the officials concerned, they shifted the blame to others, while some said it happened because of haste. No one could give a proper answer as to why that unusual expense was not verified.
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According to various websites and social media sources, the construction cost of an RCC boundary wall per square foot is Tk180-200.
For example, a concrete block manufacturing company called Eco-Concrete Products estimates the construction cost of a boundary wall per square foot to be Tk180-200.
On the other hand, another source said that it could be Tk260 or more per square foot. That is, the construction cost of a 3.30-foot boundary wall could be Tk660-900. In this case, the price of 963.12 meters ranges from Tk6,36,000 to a maximum of Tk8,67,000.
But the price has been set at Tk3,92,56,000. In this case, an estimated Tk3,83,86,000 has been set extra. That is, the price has been set 45 times higher in the case of the boundary wall.
Lifts, substations, water pumps
The price of 18 bed lifts with a capacity of 1,000kg has been set at Tk16,72,92,000, each of which costs an average of Tk92,94,000.
But after searching the market, it has been found that the price of each 1,300kg bed lift of the Hammer brand used in the hospital is Tk14,50,000, Fuji 1,200kg Tk14,00,000, FujiHD Tk25,00,000, and Sigma 3,000kg Tk19,00,000.
That is, depending on the quality and weight of each lift, the cost is between Tk14 lakh and Tk25 lakh. In this case, considering the maximum price of Tk25 lakh, the cost of 18 bed lifts is Tk4,50,00,000. That is, the price has been set almost four times higher than the actual cost.
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On the other hand, a proposal has been made to purchase 12 passenger lifts of 800kg each at a cost of Tk10,02,60,000. Where the average purchase price of each lift is Tk83,55,000.
But the price of such lifts in the market varies from a minimum of Tk12,00,000 to a maximum of Tk27,50,000, depending on the brand and quality.
That is, even taking into account the highest price, the price of 12 passenger lifts stands at Tk3,30,00,000. In this case, the actual price has been estimated to be three times higher.
Likewise, six substation transformers with a capacity of 1,000kVA (kilovolts-ampere) will be purchased for power supply in the project. Where the price has been estimated at Tk5,91,60,000 or Tk98,60,000 each.
However, various Bangladeshi institutions like Energy System Company and Transpower Engineering Limited are selling such substation transformers with the same capacity at a purchase price of Tk17,80,000 to Tk40,00,000.
In this case, even if the maximum price is Tk40,00,000, the cost of six substations is Tk2,40,00,000. The estimation is almost two and a half times more than the actual price.
Again, the price of 12 substations with a capacity of 250kVA has been estimated at Tk7,55,40,000 or an average price of Tk62,95,000. But depending on the company and quality, the prices of these have been seen from Tk4,00,000 to a maximum of Tk12,00,000.
Considering the maximum price, the cost of 12 substations is expected to be Tk1,44,00,000. In this case, the cost has been proposed to be more than five times the market price.
Meanwhile, the cost of purchasing 12 pumps with a capacity of 20 horsepower (HP) for the project has been estimated at Tk54,00,000. That is, the average price of each pump is Tk4,50,000. But a Bangladeshi website called Moon Gallery has revealed that they are selling 10 HP pumps for Tk56,000 and that if it is 20 HP, it is possible to give it for Tk1,00,000.
The price of a 20 HP and 2,900 RPM submersible pump of the Pedrolo brand is being sold at Tk95,000, the Gazi brand at Tk65,000, and the RFL brand at Tk64,500. If the highest price of Tk95,000 is taken into account, then the purchase price of 12 pumps stands at Tk11,40,000. So, the cost has been proposed to be almost five times higher.
In the case of a 10 HP pump, the Marquis brand is being sold at Tk51,500 on the website Melmart, while the price of a pump of the Gazi brand is Tk56,000 on Moon Gallery. On the other hand, the selling price of Pentax monoblock from iSmart is Tk1,23,000.
That is, a 10 HP pump is available for a minimum of Tk51,500 to a maximum of Tk1,23,000. But the cost of 24 pumps in the project is Tk96,00,000, with an average cost of Tk4,00,000 each.
That is, here too, an average of Tk3,00,000 has been added to the estimated cost of each pump.
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