The authorities of the Rajshahi City Corporation have decided to shut activities of its at least 11 sections, citing them ‘unnecessary’.
The authorities say that they are shutting down the eleven sections opened during the tenure of former city corporation mayor and Awami League presidium member AHM Khairuzzaman Liton, as they are costing the government agency a huge amount of money every year.
About Tk 2.77 crore were allocated for the eleven sections in the immediate past budget of 2023-24 fiscal year of the city corporation.
According to RCC officials and employees, after being elected as a mayor in 2018 AHM Khairuzzaman opened the 11 departments beyond the corporation organogram.
The 11 sections are Event Management and Tourism Section, Community Development Section, International Relations Section, Social Dispute Settlement Section, Disaster Management and Relief Section, Religious Affairs Section, Education and ICT Department, ICT Section, City Museum and Archives Section, Law and Justice Section, and Women and Children Welfare Section.
In the eleven sections, a total of 198 officials and employees, mostly leaders and activists of the Awami League and its affiliated organisations, were appointed, the officials alleged.
ABM Sharif Uddin, chief executive officer of the city corporation, told ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ· that the eleven sections were introduced outside of the organogram before he joined the city corporation.
‘The former mayor had introduced those election sections as he wanted to expand the city area to 350 square kilometers from the existing 96 square kilometres. When the proposal to expand the city area got stuck, we sent letters to the local government ministry twice for the approval of the eleven sections, but our applications were rejected,’ he said.
ABM Sharif Uddin said that they had taken a policy decision to phase out these sections to ease their financial burden as they were not necessary for them for now.
‘We will assign some of the officials and employees who are working in any of the eleven sections and are duly expert and experienced, to other authorised sections of the city corporation,’ he added.
Mizanur Rahman, coordinator of Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik’s Rajshahi district unit, said that the eleven sections the city corporation authorities had decided to shut down were introduced to rehabilitate the AL and JL leaders and activists.
‘Anything like these eleven sections should never be introduced in any government office only for any personal or political interest,’ he added.
