Officials use public funds for excessive fuel, ambulances for commutes

Officials of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) are being allocated between 400 and 600 litres of fuel a month for their vehicles, despite government directives setting a monthly limit of 200 litres for entitled vehicles and a maximum of 250 litres for officials of secretary rank. The corporation has no fuel allocation policy of its own.

An investigation has found that some drivers sell the excess fuel allocated to them. Some officials remain silent despite knowing about the practice. Some officials also use their vehicles, along with drivers, for personal and family needs beyond official duties. There have even been instances of ambulances being used to transport officials between their homes and offices.

Asked about the absence of specific rules governing fuel consumption by vehicles and the excessive allocations, DSCC administrator Abdus Salam told Prothom Alo that the corporation must follow existing government policies even if it has no policy of its own.

There is no scope for deviating from government rules, he said, adding that he had instructed the authorities to investigate the matter promptly and take necessary action.

There is no clear explanation of the basis on which fuel is allocated or how the amount for each official is determined.

DSCC Secretary Mohammad Mashiur Rahman Khan, who is also in charge of the transport division, said he had been unable to obtain detailed information on the matter. He told Prothom Alo that he had asked the relevant officials to explain the basis for fuel allocations but had yet to receive an answer. When he sought to examine the files, subordinate officials told him that no previous official had asked to see them.

An official of the transport division said the corporation had no fuel allocation policy of its own. Asked how allocations were determined, he said the same practice had been followed in the past and continued to this day.

Several DSCC officials said initiatives had been taken more than once to formulate a fuel allocation policy, but none had progressed. Instead of recalculating allocations based on vehicle use and actual requirements, the corporation continues to provide fuel at the old rates.

The general limits on fuel consumption for government vehicles were set in a government notification issued on 13 April 2010. Separate limits for senior secretaries, secretaries and officials of equivalent rank were introduced in 2020. No explanation was available as to which government directive DSCC follows when allocating fuel to its officials.

Monwar Hossain, private secretary to the DSCC administrator, travels to his office at Nagar Bhaban from his home in Dhanmondi. The round-trip distance between his home and office is 11 kilometres. Yet his vehicle is allocated 600 litres of fuel a month.

This amounts to an average allocation of 20 litres a day, costing approximately Tk 81,000 a month. If the vehicle travels five to six kilometres per litre, the allocated fuel would be enough to cover 100 to 120 kilometres a day.

Monwar Hossain told Prothom Alo that all officials receive an allocation of 20 litres a day, while some receive 15 litres. He said he did not personally request fuel for his vehicle; the transport division issues it.

DSCC Chief Executive Officer Khaybar Rahman has two vehicles allocated to him, with substantial fuel allowances for both. He uses one vehicle regularly, while the other is also kept for his use. Several drivers said the second vehicle was also used for the chief executive officer's work.

According to corporation sources, the two vehicles receive approximately 930 litres of fuel a month, costing around Tk 125,550. The annual fuel bill alone comes to about Tk 1.5 million, excluding vehicle maintenance and drivers' salaries and allowances.

The practice of keeping two vehicles for the chief executive officer is not new. An earlier investigation by Prothom Alo found that members of the family of the then chief executive officer were using one of his allocated vehicles.

At the time, the corporation said a committee would be formed to regulate vehicle and fuel use. However, the practice of allocating two vehicles remains in place.

Asked about the matter, Khaybar Rahman told Prothom Alo, “Even though there are two vehicles, I do not ride in both. This is not limited to the South City Corporation; the chief executive officer of the North City Corporation also has two vehicles allocated to him.”

A review of DSCC's fuel allocation records for June found that Farukul Islam Selim, assistant private secretary to the administrator, was allocated 600 litres of octane for his vehicle, costing Tk 87,000.

Mahabubur Rahman Talukder, chief waste management officer, received 519 litres of diesel, worth Tk 70,065 at current market prices. The vehicle assigned to the secretary received 480 litres of diesel.

Architect Mohammad Sirajul Islam's vehicle received 465 litres, Chief Revenue Officer Jonaed Kabir Sohag's vehicle received 450 litres, and System Analyst Mohammad Abu Tayyeb Rokon's vehicle received 400 litres of diesel.

Chief Accounts Officer Mohammad Ali Mansur's vehicle was allocated 478 litres of octane that month. The vehicle assigned to Mohammad Sujauddaula, regional executive officer of Zone 6, received 456 litres of octane.

A vehicle allocated to Assistant Health Officer Fatema Tuz Zohra received 312 litres of fuel, while the vehicles of two other assistant health officers, Nur Hossain and Shihab Uddin, received 334 litres each.

In addition, a vehicle described in the records as being “used by a deputy secretary of the Local Government Division” received 600 litres of octane from the corporation''s funds, at a cost of Tk 87,000.

Three officials of DSCC hospitals and maternity centres have been using ambulances intended for transporting patients. Records show fuel allocations against their names for these vehicles.

There have been allegations that the ambulances are used to transport the officials from their homes to their offices and back after work. However, the official records describe the purpose of their use as “official duties”.

An ambulance allocated to Sabina Khatun, acting director of Dhaka Metropolitan General Hospital, received 512 litres of diesel in one month, costing Tk 58,880.

Records show that an ambulance assigned to Hamida Khatun, acting director of Dhaka Mohanagar Shishu Hospital, received 286 litres of diesel, costing Tk 32,890.

Another ambulance, allocated to Sathi Khanam, deputy director-cum-inspector of Nazirabazar Maternity Centre, received 230 litres of diesel, costing Tk 26,450.

The three ambulances received a combined 1,028 litres of diesel in a month, at a total cost of Tk 118,220. If fuel continues to be allocated at the same rate, the annual expenditure would reach approximately Tk 1.42 million.

If each of DSCC's 76 officials were allocated 250 litres of fuel a month for one vehicle, the total requirement would be 19,000 litres.

At the highest rate recorded in the documents, Tk 145 per litre, the monthly expenditure would amount to Tk 2.7 million, or Tk 33.06 million a year.

By contrast, the corporation currently spends approximately Tk 57.6 million annually on fuel for officials' vehicles. The difference between the two figures is Tk 24.54 million.

In other words, limiting monthly allocations to 250 litres per vehicle could save approximately Tk 24.5 million a year, based on these calculations.

Several

DSCC officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said some drivers had come to regard selling excess fuel as a regular source of income after enjoying the opportunity for years. They said the irregularities were being allowed to continue partly because of concerns that abruptly ending the practice could provoke resentment among drivers.

Secretary Mashiur Rahman Khan said he would investigate whether fuel was being used at officials'' discretion. He would also discuss measures to reduce waste with the authorities, he added.

Asked for comment, Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), told Prothom Alo that there should be no scope for such rule-breaking benefits at an institution funded by public money. Those who are enjoying these benefits must surely know what the rules should be. This is not merely a matter involving one or two individuals; the entire institution and the senior officials and employees involved are implicated.

Iftekharuzzaman added that those who violated rules and regulations and abused their authority through deception to obtain such benefits must be held accountable without delay.

He called for clear policies to be formulated and strict requirements introduced to ensure compliance.

“There is no alternative to ensuring accountability. Otherwise, such misconduct will continue to grow,” he said.