Dhaka Wasa MD must submit salary details, chamber judge upholds HC order
The Appellate Division Chamber Court has upheld the High Court's (HC) order seeking a report stating how much money Dhaka Wasa Managing Director Taqsem A Khan had taken in the last 13 years as salary, bonus and other benefits.
Chamber Judge Borhan Uddin passed the order after hearing two separate pleas filed by Wasa Board and Wasa MD seeking a stay order on the HC order.
The court also upheld the three-month prohibition order on giving incentives as "performance bonus" to officials and employees of Dhaka Wasa.
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Advocate AM Masum appeared for Wasa MD in the court while Barrister Jotirmoy Barua appeared for the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB).
It was on 17 August when the HC had ordered authorities concerned to submit the details of how much money the controversial MD took as salary and bonus and enjoyed other facilities in the last 13 years.
Besides, the court had also issued a ruling asking why the government's inaction in removing the official should not be declared illegal, and proper steps should not be taken to remove him.
The Dhaka Wasa board chairman was supposed to submit the pay report within the next 60 days, as the defendants – local government secretary, Dhaka Wasa board, Wasa chairman and Wasa managing director – were to respond to the ruling within four weeks.
The HC bench of Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Kazi Mohammad Izarul Haque Akand passed the order after hearing a writ petition filed by the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB).
The court also wanted to know why the Wasa managing director's pay should not be ordered to be fixed as per the National Pay Scale-2015 until he is removed.
According to the Wasa Act, the managing director is the chief executive officer of the organisation.
Taqsem was first appointed to the post in 2009. Despite controversies and criticisms, his tenure has been extended six times. At present, he receives Tk6.25 lakh per month as salary and allowances.
From sherbet to home office – criticisms pour in
In 2019, Taqsem A Khan rejected a Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) report that suggested city residents have to burn gas worth Tk332.37 crore per annum in order to make the supplied water drinkable.
He claimed that Wasa water supplied in Dhaka is hundred percent drinkable according to the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline.
His remark caused a stir. A citizen rights activist appeared at the Wasa office and offered the Wasa managing director a glass of sherbet made by Wasa water.
Taqsem refused to drink it, and said the water could get contaminated due to supply line leakages and accumulated dirt in household reserve tanks.
In 2021, the official travelled to the US and did office virtually for four months. But he took approval for three months. This year, he again applied for the US trip and virtual office work, which eventually got rejected.
In the last 13 years since the ruling Awami League came to power in 2009, Dhaka WASA has increased water prices 14 times. Water price was hiked by 31% in the last two years despite the pandemic fallout.
But the Wasa managing director early this year said the gap between production cost and water price was huge. His organisation still had to pay Tk10 subsidy per 1,000 litres of water.
Recently, Dhaka Wasa declared Tk19 crore incentives to all of its officers and employees as "Performance Award". The announcement roped in the High Court as the court postponed the incentives for three months.
