How long does it take to build a municipal building? Two years, three years? But in the case of the construction of the ‘Type-B’ municipal building of Paikgachha Municipality in Khulna, time seems like an endless maze. Even though several years have passed since the contract expired, the progress of the work has stalled, raising questions about the transparency of the project and the professionalism of the contracting company. Apparently, it has now become not just a half-finished building, but a burning document of administrative procrastination for the locals.

According to the information received, the contract for this huge project costing 67.7 million taka was signed on September 14, 2020. The work order was given to the contracting company named Messrs. Ziaul Traders on September 30, 2020. As per the rules, the keys of this aesthetic building were supposed to be in the hands of the municipality by September 29, 2022. But the reality is extremely disappointing. Even after the stipulated time, the physical progress of the work is stuck at only 65 percent. It can be seen on the ground that the building now stands like a dilapidated skeleton, which has become a cause of anger for the locals instead of modern city services.

‎Question from the conscious community One of the most discussed aspects of the project is the issue of release of funds. While the physical progress is slightly more than half, the contractor has already collected about 3 crore 48 lakh taka as a bill. The question from the conscious community is – how was almost half of the total allocation released despite this snail-paced pace of work? Is this just a bureaucratic rule, or is there some negligence behind it?

Local residents complain that despite the extension of time, there is no visible progress in the work at the field level. Sometimes, work starts with a show of people, but after a few days, everything becomes deserted. Due to this slow pace, the administrative activities of the municipality are being severely disrupted and the citizens are being deprived of the desired services.

There is growing anger among locals over how work on an important project can remain stagnant for years despite regular monitoring. Concerned people believe that the indifference of the contractor, ‘Ms. Ziaul Traders’, and the laxity of the supervisory body are the main reasons for this impasse.

Residents of the urban area have called this delay a ‘farce in the name of development’ and have demanded the immediate formation of a high-level investigation committee to investigate the reasons for the slow progress of the project.

Fund crisis and political changes:

While trying to find out the reason for such a standstill in the construction of the building, we spoke to the additional engineer of the municipality, Nur Ahmed. He admitted the slow pace of the work and made it clear that the project is being implemented entirely with the municipality’s own funds. But currently, due to the lack of money in the fund, the construction work has had to be completely stopped.

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Here comes the big question:

If there is not enough money in its own funds, how was the work order given with an estimate of more than 6 crores? Doesn’t the lack of assurance of funds before the start of the project indicate a lack of extreme administrative foresight?

Meanwhile, the upazila administration has brought to the fore the issue of political influence and contractor’s evasion in addition to the funding crisis behind the project. In this regard, the Upazila Executive Officer (UNO) said, “The contractor received the running bill according to the amount of work completed under the government budget. However, after the change of government, the contractor concerned left the area. Since then, the construction work of the project has been stopped.”

When this huge framework of development is stuck in the grip of political changes and administrative funds, who will take responsibility for this waste of crores of rupees and public suffering? The need of the hour is for strict and swift action by the higher authorities to resolve this deadlock and protect the public interest.