Selim Chowdhury Hira:
Former Upazila Chairman of Comilla Laksam, Advocate Yunus Bhuiyan, despite using the Upazila Parishad’s official car for his personal work, has received other benefits including car repairs, fuel, etc. from government funds. As a result, he has withdrawn about 12 lakh taka from the government revenue sector for car repairs in the last 4 years.
It is reported that he was elected as the chairman of Laksam Upazila Parishad while working as a lawyer in the Comilla court. Since being elected as the chairman, he has used the car allocated to the chairman of the Upazila Parishad for personal and political purposes and for commuting from Laksam to his workplace in Comilla.
In the last 4 years, about 1.2 million taka has been spent from the revenue fund of the Upazila Parishad on repairing used jeeps of Laksam Upazila Parishad, which is many times more than the government’s spending limit.
Following the Local Government Department’s circular No. Shasbi/Up-1/Gari/ (2)-2/99/93 (472) dated 24/4/2005, there is an instruction that the Upazila Parishad can spend a maximum of 30 thousand taka per year from the revenue fund for the maintenance and repair of vehicles. Later, by issuing circular No. 264 dated 16 February 2020, the Upazila Parishad Revenue Fund Utilization Guidelines 2020 increased the expenditure on jeep vehicle repair from 30 thousand to 1 lakh, but Laksam Upazila Parishad has spent several times more than that instruction.
In the last four years, 11 lakh 94 thousand 9 hundred and 50 taka has been withdrawn from the revenue fund of Laksam Upazila Parishad for the jeep repair sector of the Upazila Parishad.
Upazila Parishad sources said that there has been a massive looting in the past in the use of Upazila Parishad revenue funds. A review of the documents shows that this massive looting has taken place in various sectors including jeep repairs, fuel expenses, travel allowances of the two chairmen, honorarium of the Development Coordination Committee, honorarium of the Tender Evaluation Committee, furniture repairs, and furniture purchases.
Only in the Laksam Upazila Parishad, 50 thousand taka was spent on jeep repair in April 2020, 4 lakh 32 thousand 9 hundred and 50 taka in January 2021, 70 thousand taka on denting and painting of jeeps in February 2021, 30 thousand taka in repair in June 2021, 64 thousand taka in September 2021, 23 thousand taka in February 2022, 34 thousand 100 taka in October 2022, 34 thousand 100 taka in March 2023, 31 thousand 800 taka in June 2023, 55 thousand taka in September 2023, 45 thousand taka in November 2023, 3 lakh taka in March 2024 and 25 thousand taka in September 2024.
Those concerned believe that this huge withdrawal is against government orders.
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