41 MP hostel rooms in crony hands

A group of parliamentarians has been unofficially possessing 41 unallocated rooms and three suites of the two MP hostels of the Jatiya Sangsad for nearly two years.

Most of them do not live in the hostels at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar and Nakhalpara. Their relatives, private secretaries, assistant private secretaries and supporters from their constituencies live in the rooms instead, said sources in the Parliament Secretariat.

Over the last two years, the House Committee has been trying to free the rooms of illegal occupation, but failed. A Sangsad sub-committee on residential facilities did not succeed either.

The sub-committee was formed a year ago with Chief Whip Khandaker Delwar Hossain as its head to evict the illegal occupiers and to send the Parliament Secretariat recommendations for fresh allotment of the rooms.

But the committee members could not explain why illegal occupation still persists at the MP hostels. They said the sub-committee that held two meetings after its inception recommended that the Parliament Secretariat evict the illegal occupants.

Parliament Secretariat Assistant Secretary Monsur Ahmed Khan, in charge of the hostel branch of the Jatiya Sangsad, declined to comment on the issue.

The Parliament Secretariat allotted 107 of the 120 rooms of the Sher-e-Bangla Nagar hostel. Of the unallocated 13, eight were occupied by Jatiya Party (JP) (Ershad) lawmakers, three by ruling BNP lawmakers, one by a Jamaat-e-Islami MP and another by an independent MP, according to a list prepared by the Parliament Secretariat and placed at the June 21 meeting of the sub-committee.

Deputy Minister for CHT Affairs Moni Swapan Dewan, BNP Whip Zahed Ali Chowdhury and BNP lawmaker Hafiz Ibrahim have possessed the three unallocated suites in the Sher-e-Bangla Nagar hostel.

Dewan lives in his suite, but the two others live in their own residences in Dhaka. "I didn't get any residence officially. So I applied for a suite long ago, but I don't know whether or not the Parliament Secretariat has given me any. I don't want to live here illegally," he said.

At the Nakhalpara MP hostel, the Parliament Secretariat has allotted 42 of the 75 rooms. Of the 33 unallocated rooms, 17 were unofficially occupied by BNP lawmakers, eight by JP (E) MPs and three by Awami League (AL) lawmakers.

Some MPs and whips of the ruling and opposition parties told The Daily Star that the Sangsad sub-committee recommended allotment of the rooms, but the Parliament Secretariat did not act in line with the recommendations.

The seventh parliament members who were re-elected to the eighth parliament need not apply again for allotment, they reasoned.

Shipping Minister Akbar Hossain, also on the list, denied being in possession of any room. He told The Daily Star that he got a room at the Nakhalpara hostel after the previous election, but no room this time.

State Minister for LGRD Ziaul Haq Zia, another occupant, said, "I pay rents for my room. Had it not been allocated to me, how come they charge me?" He alleged that the Parliament Secretariat gave wrong information to the House sub-committee.

Goutam Chakroborty, state minister for water resources, said a room was allocated to him but, "as I don't need it anymore, I asked my staff to return the room to the Parliament Secretariat".

"Maybe the hand-over process has not yet been completed, which is why my name is still on the list," he said.

Commerce Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, whose assistant private secretary (APS) resides in a room at the Nakhalpara hostel, could not be contacted for comments. Parliament sources said the minister's APS is residing there on an instruction from the ruling party Whip Syed Wahidul Alam.

JP (E) lawmaker Dr TIM Fazle Rabbi Chowdhury reasoned that he did not need a fresh allotment as he got his room after he was re-elected.

Deputy Speaker Akhter Hamid Siddiqui said he was to get a room at the Nakhalpara MP hostel but was not sure whether the authorities gave him any.

Opposition Chief Whip Abdus Shahid said his party wrote to the Parliament Secretariat asking for rooms for three AL MPs. But they were not provided with any room, said Shahid, also a sub-committee member. "Those staying without approval were served with notices twice," he said.

Whip Fazlul Haq Aspia said he was given a room of the Nakhalpara MP hostel as a BNP lawmaker of the seventh parliament. Although he was not officially given any room after he was re-elected, he occupied one without approval this time.

The Parliament Secretariat list says: At the Sher-e-Bangla Nagar MP hostel, 13 rooms are in the name of Shipping Minister Akbar Hossain and State Minister for Environment Zafrul Islam Chowdhury; JP (E) MPs Dr TIM Fazle Rabbi Chowdhury, Motiur Rahman, Shah Solaiman Alam, Mashiur Rahman Ranga, Mohammad Ali Sarkar, Hafizuddin Ahmed, AKM Mostafizur Rahman, and Karim Uddin Bharasha; BNP MP Gias Uddin; Jamaat MP Moulana Abdul Aziz; and independent MP Mohammad Ali.

A total of 28 rooms of the Nakhalpara MP hostel are in the name of Commerce Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, Deputy Speaker Akhter Hamid Siddiqui, State Minister for Energy AKM Mosharraf Hossain, State Minister for Local Government Ziaul Haque Zia, State Minister for Water Resources Goutam Chakroborty, Women and Children Affairs Minister Khurshid Jahan Haq, State Minister for Education ANM Ehsanul Haq, State Minister for Youth and Sports Fazlur Rahman and Whip Fazlul Haq Aspia; BNP MPs Helaluzzaman Talukder Lalu, Gazi Mohammad Shajahan, Advocate Nadim Mostafa, Motiur Rahman Talukder, GM Fazlul Haq and Lt Gen (retd) Mahbubur Rahman; JP MPs GM Kader, AKM Mostafizur Rahman, Noor Mohammad Mondol (two rooms), Tajul Islam Chowdhury (two rooms), Golam Habib Dulal and Rawshan Ershad; and AL lawmakers Sheikh Helal Uddin, Kazi Sirajul Islam and Altaf Hossain Golandaz.

The list of illegally occupied rooms also includes the name of late BNP lawmaker Nurul Amin Talukder.