Said to be built, found to be not

In seven years, the authorities of Dhaka Infrastructure Development project constructed 10 Union Parishad complexes and announced the project complete leaving construction of the 11th complex less-than-half done.
Had they completed the 11th building, still it would have been only half true as the project authorities in its report claimed to have completed all 23 complexes as planned in the project. The project work was done between 2003 and 2009.
A probe by Local Government Engineering Directorate (LGED) yesterday revealed corruption of its infrastructure project in a meeting of Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec).
The probe was initiated after Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Department (IMED) found no trace of 12 complexes under the project.
IMED, a government body that evaluates implementation of government work, also found that the project report showed an expenditure of Tk 6.39 crore for constructing almost 11 buildings, while the actual cost of the buildings is Tk 3.79 crore.
The LGED probe report found that the project director gave “untrue and fabricated” information in the project report. The probe report also unearthed some other irregularities in the Tk 219 crore infrastructure development project.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who chaired yesterday's Ecnec meeting, directed authorities concerned to refer the case to Anti-Corruption Commission and stressed regular monitoring of project implementation.
After the meeting Planning Secretary Bhuiyan Shafiqul Islam told journalists that the matter would be investigated further by the local government secretary. He pledged punishment to the people behind the anomalies.
Lack of planning and monitoring of higher authorities have paved the way for corruption, concluded the report recommending punishment to the project director.