Empty duplexes designed for UGC top officials, yet left vacant

There are three adjacent duplex houses in the University Grants Commission (UGC) residential area at Mirpur 14 in Dhaka. These were built for the residence of the UGC chairman and its members. However, these houses remained largely unused for years, with the buildings now showing signs of neglect.

The houses now have moss-covered walls, broken doors and windows and rusted iron grills. The main gate was damaged several years ago, while the houses have no furniture inside.

The condition of the buildings was observed during an on-site visit on 18 July.

There are nine other buildings in that residential area, which are three to five stories high. However, these buildings, constructed at the same time, are in use. Officials and employees live there and they are maintained regularly.

According to UGC sources, the construction work of the buildings in the nearly three-acre residential area was completed in 2001 at a cost of BDT 100 million. The area has accommodation for 67 of the UGC’s around 400 officers and employees.

The duplex house built for the chairman has an area of approximately 3,400 square feet. Each of the two houses built for the members has an area of 2,600 square feet.

Sources say that between 2002 and 2015, a total of 10 members lived in the two houses built for members. They have been vacant ever since. However, the house built for the chairman has never been used by any chairman. An official lived there until 2010, after which that too has been empty. Due to being unused for a long time, the maintenance of the houses was also neglected.

Following the appointment of a new chairman or members, the UGC would extend invitations to stay at the duplex houses in Mirpur. However, most members chose not to stay there. This has been verified through a review of several written documents from the UGC.

According to the documents, on 20 November 2023, the then UGC member and Dhaka University professor Haseena Khan stated in writing that she had received an invitation to stay at the Mirpur duplex house. However, since she has her own home in Gulshan, she did not want to move there.

Earlier, on 31 December 2020, UGC member and Chittagong University professor Abu Taher stated that he had a rented house in Uttara and therefore did not want to stay at the UGC residence.

On 20 December of the same year, another UGC member and Rajshahi University professor Biswajit Chanda stated that he was living in a personally rented house in Mohammadpur and consequently chose not to move into the UGC residential building.

There is also a residence for the chairman in Dhanmondi. Built on approximately 22 kathas of land, this building has also been lying unused for about eight years.

Relevant sources indicate that even though they did not live in the houses, the respective chairmen and members drew house rent allowances.

According to 'The Bangladesh Allotment Rules, 1982,' after being allotted government housing, one is supposed to take possession within a specified period. If any official keeps allotted housing vacant, it can be considered irregular. Taking house rent allowance while living elsewhere instead of occupying government housing also raises questions under the rules.

A former UGC member, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that when the residential area was built, the environment of the Mirpur 14 area was not as developed as it is now. According to him, the chairman and members receive a house rent allowance at the rate of 55 per cent of their basic salary, which is why many choose to rent houses in areas of their preference.

Professor Mamun Ahmed of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Dhaka University was appointed as the UGC chairman on 16 March. He, too, has not moved into the official residence allocated for the UGC chairman, continuing to live in his pre-allocated flat in the Dhaka University area.

However, on 19 July, the UGC sent a letter to the university authority to submit a budget proposal for the renovation and decoration of that flat. Questions have been raised regarding how justifiable it is for the UGC to fund the renovation of that flat.

When contacted regarding this, Zafar Ahmad Jahangir, Director of the UGC's General Services and Engineering Department, declined to make any comments.

UGC Chairman Professor Mamun Ahmed told Prothom Alo over the phone that the official residences designated for the chairman in Mirpur and Dhanmondi are uninhabitable, which is why he is staying in the flat allocated to him as a teacher of Dhaka University. However, he claimed that no initiative has been taken to create permanent residential facilities in that flat.

Professor Mamun Ahmed said that discussions have been held on whether a minimal ‘office space’ can be created there for the convenience of official work. However, work will only proceed if it complies with the rules.

When asked if there are any plans regarding the neglected duplex houses in Mirpur, he said that no discussions have been held on the matter yet.

According to UGC sources, despite repeated invitations, no chairman or member has moved into their designated residence. For this reason, no one has been invited since 2023.

AKM Abdul Awal Mazumder, a former secretary and former rector of the Bangladesh Public Administration Training Centre (BPATC), told Prothom Alo that the UGC and Dhaka University are two separate institutions. Therefore, repairing or decorating a university flat using UGC funds is 100 per cent illegal.

Moreover, leaving the Mirpur houses abandoned for years is also a wrongdoing. Such neglect of public property is unacceptable in any way. Those appointed to high positions must possess the mindset to make sacrifices.