RCC decides to sack 200 staffers

Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) has decided to sack 200 staffers employed on daily-payment basis from next month.

The decision came after RCC Mayor Mosaddek Hossain Bulbul found those employees were appointed "without requirement and due to lobbies of local ruling party lawmakers and leaders" when he was suspended for being charge-sheeted in four criminal cases, including one for murder.

Most of the fired employees working in administration, revenue, engineering, conservancy, health and accounts had been "verbally asked" not to attend office early this month with immediate effect and they stopped coming to office, said officials of the city corporation.

The city corporation needed Tk 12 lakh a month to pay the employees' salaries, Mayor Bulbul, also the president of the city BNP, told The Daily Star.

"It has put an extra pressure on the city corporation expenditure," he said.

Many of them could not do the work for which they had been recruited. Such as a computer operator did not know how to type and a health worker never went on field visit, he said. 

Ward Councillor Nizam-ul Azim, who was the acting mayor in absence of Bulbul, admitted that he accepted requests of local Awami League leaders.

But he claimed that the recruitment was necessary and it was done following the rules. "Honest and skilled youths were recruited to perform their jobs effectively."

The employees include office assistants, van-pullers who collect household waste, electrician assistants and health workers, he said.

However, Bulbul said they were considering keeping 30 employees, who performed well, in their services.

Meanwhile, Bulbul called a general meeting yesterday to discuss reinstatement of previous panel mayors as well as former members of standing committees on various municipality affairs who were changed during his suspension between May 2015 and April this year. 

But the meeting was postponed after the High Court on Wednesday gave a stay order on it following a writ petition of Councillor Nizam.

Nizam said he filed the writ, saying that law does not permit to change incumbent panel mayors and members of standing committees before expiry of their tenures.

Taking office in 2013, Bulbul made councillors -- Anwarul Amin, Nuruzzaman Tito and Nurun Nahar -- panel mayors who would become the acting mayor in his absence as per the rule.

After his suspension, ruling party men convinced the panel mayors to resign.

Then councillors Nizam, AKM Rashedul Hasan and Tahera Begum were made panel mayors, paving the way for the pro-ruling party man, Nizam, to become the RCC acting mayor.

Members of all 22 standing committees of the city corporation were also changed in absence of Bulbul.

Talking to this correspondent, Bulbul claimed that the High Court in its order said his suspension was illegal.

"Therefore, decisions taken by an illegal authority which do not serve the public interest should be scrapped," he said.

Elected in June 2013, Bulbul was suspended on May 7 in 2015 after courts accepted charge sheets against him in four criminal cases, including one for murder of a police constable.

Bulbul went to the HC and won the legal battle. Finally, the Supreme Court upheld the HC verdict on March 5 this year. Bulbul was reinstated on April 2.