Four projects worth Tk21 lakh were allegedly paid for without being implemented, out of 22 projects undertaken under the revenue budget over the past two fiscal years.
Representational image. Illustration: TBS
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Representational image. Illustration: TBS
Naria Municipality in Shariatpur faces allegations that at least Tk31 lakh was paid for development projects that were never implemented, while multiple projects were allegedly shown at the same locations to secure separate allocations.
According to municipal documents and concerned sources, 22 projects worth Tk1.11 crore were undertaken through the quotation method under the revenue budget in the 2024-25 and 2025-26 fiscal years. Of these, four projects budgeted at Tk21 lakh were allegedly paid for despite the works not being implemented.
During the same period, 15 projects received Tk35.50 lakh under the Test Relief (TR) programme. Three projects budgeted at around Tk10 lakh were allegedly left unimplemented.
Visits to several project sites found no visible evidence of the reported works. The municipality’s engineering department, however, maintains that bills were cleared only after the works were completed.
Two projects on one road
In 2024-25, the municipality awarded two projects to repair the road from Naria Bridge to Kalikaprasad Chowkidar Bazar in Ward 1.
Munsi Construction received a Tk9.98 lakh work order and Kanta Traders Tk2.60 lakh, bringing the total to Tk12.58 lakh. Records show the payments were made in March 2025.
Yet the road remains riddled with potholes, broken asphalt and crumbling edges. Locals said it has undergone no significant repair for years.
Kanta Traders proprietor M A Salam said the firm carried out the work after receiving the work order and that he could provide details after checking the register.
When asked about the absence of visible signs of the work, Salam initially said it had been carried out on the road in front of a school, before referring to the Chowkidar Bazar area. He said one of the two works had been completed and advised contacting the municipality regarding the other.
The firm also received a Tk2.60 lakh work order in 2024-25 to repair the road in front of West Lonsing Government Primary School in Ward 9. Records show the payment was made, but the road remains in poor condition. Locals said residents and students of two educational institutions use it daily and face hardship because of its condition.
Two allocations at dumping ground
The municipality bought around 90 decimals of land at Bashtala beside the Padma in 2023 for waste management and began dumping waste there in 2024.
A Tk5.71 lakh project was approved last year for excavating soil for a structure’s foundation using a hydraulic excavator. Another Tk3.83 lakh was allocated at the same site in 2025-26 under the TR programme for soil excavation and boundary-wall construction.
The two projects total Tk9.55 lakh. But a site visit found municipal waste piled in a populated area, with cleaners regularly dumping waste there. There was no visible boundary wall or clear evidence of excavation for a foundation. Residents complained of foul odour from the dumping ground.
Contractor Alil Bandukchi initially said he would check whether the work had been completed. Later, he said soil had been excavated in a canal-like formation to drain water from the dumping ground. He claimed the work, carried out about a year ago, might no longer be visible.
More allegations of duplicate allocations
A firm received a work order last July to build a semi-permanent warehouse on the roof of the municipality’s two-storey building and withdrew Tk9.98 lakh. Contractor Imon Bepari said he built it on the vacant roof, where there had previously been no structure.
However, another Tk3 lakh was allegedly allocated for the same location under the TR programme in 2024-25.
Similarly, Tk8.22 lakh was allocated to pave the municipal building’s courtyard, and the work was implemented. Another Tk3 lakh was allegedly allocated for the same site later under the TR programme.
Locals have called for an investigation into the alleged multiple allocations and withdrawals.
Municipality denies irregularities
Assistant municipal engineer Khandaker Firoz Ahmed said all quotation-based projects were inspected on site before bills were cleared, leaving no scope for payments without completed works.
Lucky Das, assistant commissioner (land) and acting municipal administrator, said the allegations would be investigated. If any engineer, contractor or other person concerned is found involved in irregularities, she said, action would be taken according to the rules.
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