Employees associations exploit lease, defy govt orders

TDS Desk:

Bangladesh Railway (BR) leased out huge areas of non-operational lands to its employee associations at unprecedented low rates of Tk32-100 per square feet yearly, with 50% rebate on it, but it has not been getting the due rents from occupiers for a long time.

Not only that, after getting lands on lease from the BR, a company of employees handed over 33,353 square feet of it to two real estate companies to construct a multi-storey building on it to sell them to traders in Chattogram, violating the lease conditions.

The companies also defy the government’s decision regarding reducing rebates in lease payment from 80% to 50% of the total annual lease value and reassessing lease payment.

Despite all these irregularities committed by the lease holders, surprisingly, the BR has not cancelled the leases. Instead, it continues the lease year after year. Officials concerned allege that many of the BR top brass have shares in the leaseholder companies, so they allow the mismanagement of the land by not assessing arrears of those companies and real value of land lease.

According to an audit report on land management of BR done in 2019-20 and the Estate Department data, Railway Karmachari Kalyan Trust and the Railways Men’s Store Company Limited were given lease of around 5.44 square feet land and 27.96 acre pond, and 76,112 square feet land by the East Zone alone.

The BR also allowed the company to pay 20% of total lease money. The Public Accounts committee later set the rebate as 50% of the rent.

Despite the huge deduction from the rent, the BR data said the Railways Men’s Store owed around Tk6 crore to the BR as arrears of lease money from fiscal year 1997-98 to fiscal year 2024-25.  The railway employees’ organisation stopped making payments completely in fiscal year 2020-21 and have not paid anything since then up to 2024. Earlier, they at least paid the rent irregularly.

Besides, Railways Men’s Store Chief Executive Syed Sahabuddin Shamim in 2005 handed over a part of the leased land to Atco Holdings Limited and Real Estate Private Syndicate Limited. Later the company handed it over to Bashuda Builders Limited. Bashuda Builders constructed a multi-storied building on the land and sold it to 800 people.

Later, in 2012, the Anti-Corruption Commission filed a case against former Railway (East) General Manager Abdur Rob, former Chief Traffic Manager Sultan Ahmed Talukder, former Chief Mechanical Engineer Abdul Halim Mian, former Accountants Officer Mohammad Shahidullah, Incumbent Senior Assistant Engineer Ahsan Uddin Ahmed, Auditors Nasir Uddin Ahmed and Sirajul Islam in this regard.

The other accused in the case were Railways Men’s Store Chief Executive Syed Shahabuddin Shamim, Atco Holdings Project Director Engineer Chowdhury Anisul Hoque, Real Estate Syndicate Chairman Salauddin Ibne Ahmed, its Managing Director Mohammad Shahnewas, Bashudha Builders Limited Managing Director Abdul Jabbar Khan, Railway former Additional Director General Mokhlesur Rahman, Railway (East) former General Manager Nurul Amin and Railway former Finance Adviser Mahtab Uddin and former Additional Director General Anhar Mahmud.

The case statement said the railway employees and the Railways Men’s Store officials gave permission for constructing the high-rise building on the land leased from the BR without the government’s approval, and embezzled over Tk27 crore in that way.

Meanwhile, the Karmachari Kalyan Trust owed over Tk4.68 crore to the BR until 2010, and since then it has not assessed the arrears up to the fiscal year 2019-2020, said the audit report.

The BR did not disclose exactly how much land was leased out to the companies by the Estate Department of West Zone and how much as arrears is due. However, officials said there were huge lease allotments for the companies in the zone and there are also large arrears, said sources.

The Estate Department in Rajshahi said they leased out around 1.95 lakh square feet land at Tk32 per square feet yearly at Edward Park under Bogura railway station to the Railway Karmachari Kalyan Trust in 2017. The office also leased out 43,995 square feet land at Tk32 per square feet yearly to Karmachari Kalyan Trust in 2013.

Chief Estate Officer of BR (East Zone) Sujon Chowdhury told that that they sent letters to the two employee organisations to realise the dues, but have not yet been able to get the payments.

He also said due to anomalies in payment, they filed cases against the companies, but verdicts in them have not been declared yet.

The BR estate office said in 1911, when the railway was a company, the Assam Bengal Railways Employees Society launched a cooperative business for their welfare, taking lease of railway land at a token fee of Tk1, as they did not enjoy any service benefits at that time.

Later, in 1952, in its annual general meeting, the name of the Employees Society was changed to the Railways Men’s Store Company. In 1982, the railway company and its manpower were taken over by the state.

Currently, the railway employees enjoy all the benefits of government jobs, but their organisations have not handed over the BR’s property to the government.

The Railways Men’s Store is a cooperative institution of 4,096 railway employees.

BR East Zone Chief Estate Officer Sujon Chowdhury told that, “We have filed a number of cases against the companies for not paying the dues at different times since 2006.  The court’s decisions regarding the cases are pending. Without the verdicts, we cannot proceed for realisation of the money.”

BR Director General Sarder Shahdat Ali, who is also a shareholder of an employee organisation, told that that the companies cannot avoid paying the lease money as they were part of the railway.

He said, “The Men’s Store is our company. That’s why there is no chance of misappropriating the money. We are pressuring the company to pay the due on time. Besides, there are court’s stay orders on many issues.”

Mahbub Kabir Milon, former additional secretary to the railways ministry, told that that the government should have taken over all the land leased out to different associations of railway employees at a token fee, when they took over the railway company.

“Top officials of BR are involved in the criminal activities of handing over the railway lands to third parties and construction of a multistoried building at Chattogram station road,” said Mahbub, who is very vocal on the necessity of reforms in the railways.

He said, “The BR should cancel the lease of all defaulters including Railway Karmachari Kalyan Trust. However, it is unlikely to happen, because top officials are involved in the defaulting company. The officials first have to be morally correct.”