The Chamber Court of the Supreme Court has upheld the High Court order to submit the salary and allowances of Dhaka WASA Managing Director (MD) Taksim A Khan.
Chamber Court Judge M Enayetur Rahim of the Appellate Division passed the order on Tuesday. As a result, Taksim will have to submit the salary-allowance account.
Earlier on August 17, the High Court sought to know how much salary and allowances and TA-DA and other benefits have been given to Taksim A Khan as the MD of Dhaka WASA in the last 13 years. In the form of a report, the Dhaka WASA board chairman was asked to submit the information to the court within 60 days.
Advocate Jyotirmoy Barua stood for the writ petitioner in the court. He said the court issued a rule asking why the inaction in removing the Dhaka WASA MD should not be declared illegal and appropriate steps should not be directed to remove him.
The court passed the order after hearing a writ petition filed on behalf of the Consumer Association of Bangladesh (CAB). Taksim A Khan filed an appeal against the High Court order. Chamber Judge Borhan Uddin passed No Order on Tuesday after hearing the petition. As a result, the High Court order was upheld.
Taksim A Khan has been discussed and criticized at various times. He has been the MD of Dhaka WASA since 2009. His term has been extended six times since his first appointment. He gets Tk 6.25 lakh as salary and allowances every month.
Although the water supplied by WASA in many areas of Dhaka is unfit for drinking, Taksim claims that the water supplied by WASA is safe and he also drinks it without boiling it. Social activists then came to the WASA building to feed him WASA water syrup supplied by WASA in Jurain area, but he did not show up that day.
Later, the Dhaka WASA MD proposed to the government to increase the price of water. In the meantime, Taksim told the board to increase his salary. Although WASA has no income, the man, who has been an MD for a long time, was criticized for his proposal to increase the salary and allowances of himself and employees.
SR
