Dedicated car, Tk 2.8m fuel cost to bring lunch for Taposh

A sedan car of the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) had been dedicated to bring lunch for its former mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh from his residence in Banani to the corporation headquarters in Phulbaria. 

The DSCC employed a full-time driver for the vehicle, alongside a fuel (octane) allocation of 20 liters per day, or 440 liters per month. As per the current octane price of Tk 125 per liter, the fuel cost stands at Tk 55,000 per month, translating to Tk 660,000 annually.   

In total, the city corporation spent an amount of Tk 2.8 million on the vehicle to bring lunch for the mayor throughout his 51-month tenure in the office.

Apart from this, there were three other vehicles for Taposh and his family members. Under his influence, the corporation also arranged vehicles for two officials, who were former leaders of Bangladesh Chhatra League and close to him. One of his personal officials also received a vehicle. 

A total of nine vehicles were allocated for the mayor and his close aides, while around Tk 20 million was spent as fuel costs during the 51-month period. 

The DSCC rules permit only one vehicle to be permanently allocated to the mayor, driven by a city corporation-employed driver. While serving as the mayor, Taposh used multiple vehicles, violating the rules. 

Asked about the issue, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the city corporation, Mizanur Rahman, told Prothom Alo, “I have been serving here for one and a half years, and he had been using multiple cars since earlier. If he did something going beyond the rules, it would come out in calculation.” 

Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh assumed office as the DSCC mayor in May 2020 and remained in the position until August 2024. He left for Singapore two days before the fall of the Awami League government on 5 August. According to his close ones, he is now in Singapore. 

The residence of Tapost was on the road No 18 in the capital’s Banani area, nearly 11 km away from the city corporation headquarters. The vehicle – with registration number Kha 12-0396 – used to travel around 22 km daily to carry lunch for him from the residence to the office. 

According to the transport department officials, the vehicle runs a stretch of 10 km with each liter of fuel, while the daily fuel allocation for the vehicle was 20 liters per day. The allocation was 26 liters during the period from June 2020 to the beginning of 2023, but it was later reduced to 20 liters. 

Asked about the usage of remaining fuel, its driver Najirul Islam claimed that the fuel used to be consumed fully as he had to visit different places for official purposes.  

Upon assuming the position, mayor Taposh kept two SUVs (sport utility vehicles) for his personal use, going against the rules. The city corporation allocated 1,305 liters of fuel per month for the two vehicles, costing Tk 8.3 million during the 51 months. As per rules, he was supposed to get a single vehicle for full-time use. 

According to the transport department, Taposh used to travel on a SUV – registration number Dhaka Metro Gha 15-4783 – regularly. The city corporation allocated 33 liters of fuel daily for the vehicle. His second vehicle – a SUV with registration number Dhaka Metro Gha 15-9698 – had a daily fuel allocation of 10 liters. 

There was another vehicle — Dhaka Metro Gha 15-5162 – for him, with a daily fuel allocation of 2-3 liters. 

Monir Hossain, a driver of the city corporation, told Prothom Alo that two of these vehicles were mostly used by Taposh’s wife.

Violating city corporation rules, Taposh arranged official vehicles for his assistant private secretary Nashirul Hasan, a former general secretary of Dhanmondi thana Chhatra League, and personal assistant Monirul Islam, a former vice president of Dhaka North Chhatra League. 

Despite being contractual employees, they received full-time SUVs with dedicated drivers. Monthly fuel allocations for Nashirul’s car was 620 liters, costing Tk 77,500, while Monirul’s car received 450 liters monthly, costing Tk 56,000.

As per protocol, they were not supposed to receive vehicles from the city corporation. 

Besides, a certain – Golam Morshed – used to claim himself as a protocol officer of the mayor, and take care of his personal task. He is not an official of the city corporation, but had a desk in the mayor’s office. 

Taposh arranged a double-cabin pickup – with registration No Dhaka metro Tha 13-3382 – for him too. This vehicle consumed an average of 360 liters of fuel per month, costing Tk 45,000. A total of Tk 810,000 was spent on the vehicle during his one and a half years in the office. 

Adil Muhammad Khan, president of the Bangladesh Institute of Planners, described it as an unprecedented misuse of power. “What Taposh did during his mayorship is literally a deception to the people. A proper investigation is necessary to assess the misuse of city corporation vehicles.”

He also said the authorities should seek compensation from him for the spending on fuel costs.