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FR Tower Anomalies

39 Rajuk, ministry officials responsible

Finds govt probe body

Staff Correspondent
Thirty-nine officials of Rajuk and the housing and public works ministry were responsible for the anomalies present in the 23-storey FR Tower in the capital's Banani, according to the findings of a ministerial probe committee.
The building's 23-storey plan was created by a corrupt cartel through forgery, said the report that identified 24 Rajuk officials, including three authorised officers, as liable for efforts to give legitimacy to illegal floors and approval for mortgage against the top three illegal floors.
The eight-member probe committee, led by Additional Secretary Md Yakub Ali Patwary of the public works ministry, held the officials responsible, Housing and Public Works Minister SM Rezaul Karim said yesterday, citing findings of the committee.
He said all the officials would be brought to book and added that the building did not have approval for more than 18 storeys.
Six Rajuk officials, including then chairman Humayun Khadem, have been held liable for approving the building's 18-storey plan in violation of the building rules in force then.
Other Rajuk officials held responsible are a Rajuk board member, the then town planner, chief engineer, authorised officer, and assistant authorised officer. The lease holder of the tower's plot no-32, Syed Md Hossain Imam Faruq, too has been held responsible.
Rajuk, despite knowing in 2007 that the FR Tower had illegal floors and had deviated from the approved plan, turned a blind eye to the issue and remained silent, said the report.
The probe committee further identified Rajuk's two chief building inspectors and 18 inspectors for failing to prevent the illegal constructions and ignoring the approved plan.
According to the findings, the 15-storey multipurpose commercial FR Tower building plan approved in 1990 was fine.
But the approval of the 18-storey residential-slash-commercial building plan in 1996 was in violation of the buildings rules as 2.5-metre open space on two sides and the rear was not kept and it went beyond the 155-feet height limit set by the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB).
For the 18-storey building, Rajuk approved 193 feet.
The 23-storey building plan submitted by Rupayan Housing Estate Ltd in 2005 was illegal, said the probe report, adding that despite the building owners' application for removal of illegal floors beyond 18, the Rajuk authorities did nothing.
Ministerial permission and Rajuk's approval for mortgage against the top three illegal floors were inappropriate.
The report has also held nine Rajuk officials, including two authorised officers and an executive engineer, responsible for negligence of duty.
The committee recommended removing the building's illegal portion not permissible by the CAAB or sealing it off permanently and taking legal actions against those responsible, including authorised officers, building inspectors, and the then Rajuk chairman.
On then Rajuk chairman Humayun's instructions, Authorised Officer Mokbul
Ahmed, who had expressed reservation about approving the plan under the old rules of 1984, approved it after the enactment of 1996 rules, a member of the probe committee said earlier.
Humayun, who is now over 80 years old, went into retirement more than 20 years ago.
He is suffering from dementia and Parkinson's disease, his son Raiyan Khadem had said, adding that his father could neither speak nor recognise people.
Contacted again yesterday, Raiyan said his father's condition remained the same.
"I have nothing to say," he said, adding, "I am only curious how far my father is really liable for this building anomaly because it is unbearable for me that my father's name is being slurred in the last days of his life."
On March 28, at least 27 people were killed in a fire at the FR Tower.