Moniruzzaman appointed as MD of Dhaka WASA
Additional Secretary Mohammad Moniruzzaman has been appointed as the Managing Director (MD) of Dhaka Water Supply And Sewerage Authority (WASA).
He was given this responsibility through an office order issued by the Local Government Division of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives.
The notification issued today, Monday, said that Additional Secretary Muhammad Moniruzzaman, who is currently working in the Water Supply Wing of the Local Government Division, has been given the additional responsibility of Managing Director of Dhaka WASA alongside his existing duties.
The notification also said that he will receive additional duty allowance according to the prevailing rules.
Earlier, Dhaka WASA Managing Director Md Abdus Salam Bepari resigned from the post. He submitted his resignation letter on Sunday afternoon. Sources at the Ministry of Local Government said that the process of assigning a new MD for Dhaka WASA began after his resignation was accepted.
On 11 November last year, during the final period of the interim government, Abdus Salam Bepari had been appointed as the Managing Director of Dhaka WASA through a controversial process. Earlier, he had been serving as an additional chief engineer of the same organisation.
Recently, on 4 March, an investigative report was published regarding a house in Canada in the name of Abdus Salam’s wife Mahbubunnesa. After that, he had been instructed not to participate in various government programmes, according to relevant sources.
On the same day, when Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir visited the Dasherkandi Sewage Treatment Plant of Dhaka WASA, Abdus Salam was not seen at the event.
A source at the Ministry of Local Government said Abdus Salam had been asked to resign. Although he tried to contact various places to reverse the government’s decision, it ultimately did not work.
Meanwhile, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the police has started an inquiry against Abdus Salam over allegations of money laundering abroad, according to sources.
Abdus Salam had been appointed to the post of MD of Dhaka WASA for three years. However, before appointing him, the conditions of the recruitment notice were revised several times and he was also promoted to ensure eligibility. Later, without any interview, his name was placed at the top of a three-member shortlist and sent to the Ministry of Local Government, which then appointed him.
Earlier, Taqsem A Khan had served as the Managing Director of Dhaka WASA for a long time. After being appointed in 2009, he remained in the position until 2024. However, after the fall of the Awami League government on 5 August during the mass uprising in July last year, he resigned and left the country. There are various allegations of corruption and arbitrariness against him.