TDS Desk

Gazipur City Corporation (GCC) has been embroiled in a scandal involving the purchase of mosquito-killing chemicals worth Tk8.66 crore from fraudulent companies amid a deadly dengue outbreak which has claimed 575 lives in the country in 2024.

It awarded two contracts to as many companies that had no licence at all for importing these items. Besides, the companies purportedly run by a single individual – Sirajul Huq – submitted forged documents, including fake manufacturer authorisation, for the tenders.

Three firms were made responsive bidders in the latest tender though none of them met the tender conditions.

Despite these glaring discrepancies, GCC officials, including Superintending Engineer Sudip Basak, approved the purchases.

According to the purchase documents, the GCC awarded two contracts to procure 3 lakh litres of Malathion, 4,000 litres of Temephos and 35 kg of Novaluron at Tk8,66,54,137 to the two companies that are run by Sirajul.

The two companies — M/S Galaxy Technologies Ltd and Parents Enterprise — had no valid import licence and submitted fake manufacturer authorisations for the contracts.

However, GCC Superintending Engineer Sudip Basak awarded the work orders to the companies despite the forged papers.

Sudip Basak, who was in charge of the evaluation of tender documents, and contractor Sirajul admitted the forgery to this correspondent and verified the authenticity of the copies of the tender documents obtained by the English daily.

According to the documents, the GCC invited two tenders under the same title ‘Procurement of Malathion 5% (RFU), Temephos (50%) and Novaluron Tablet (0.12p)’ on 18 October 2023 and on 24 October 2024.

GCC Superintending Engineer Sudip Basak issued a work order on 12 December this year to Parents Enterprise for supplying 1 lakh litres of Malathion 5%, 2,000 litres of Temephos and 10,000 pieces of Novaluron. The total amount of the contract value is Tk3,27,49,112.

In the tender document, Parents Enterprise declared that it would import Temephos from India, Malathion 5% from China and Novaluron from the United Kingdom.

However, the company submitted authorisation of manufacturers from two Bangladeshi companies — Siraj Agro International Limited for Malathion and Temephos and Genetica Industries Limited for Novaluron.

Talking to this correspondent, Assistant General Manager (finance and accounts) of Genetica Abu Bokkor Siddik on 29 December said they did not give anybody manufacturer authorisation.

“If my name is used, it’s a forged document. We neither have any plant to produce it nor do we have an import licence for it. Novaluron 0.12p is manufactured in the UK. Once we supplied the product through a company. But no company in Bangladesh has registration for importing the larvicide. We’ll take legal action against the company [Parents Enterprise].”

Documents of the Plant Protection (PPW) wing of the Department of Agricultural Extension also substantiated his statements.

No company in Bangladesh has a licence since 5 April 2023 to import Novaluron 0.12p, it said.

Only a company named Russell IPM Bangladesh Limited has the registration but they did not renew it after that period. The authorisation by the company to any distributor has no validity since then.

According to the PPW document, Siraj Agro International Limited also is not a manufacturer of Malathion and Temephos but an importer. Parents Enterprise submitted a manufacturer authorisation of the company signed by Ahsan Habib as its managing director.

However, according to the trade licence of the company, Md Elias Hossain is its managing director.

Elias told this correspondent, “I’m the MD of the company. We import Malathion from China and Temephos from India. We don’t manufacture it.”

Sirajul’s forgery does not end here.

Three companies named M/S Galaxy Technologies Ltd, Parents Enterprise and Aleef Trade International bid for the tender. Of them, the parents of the owners of Galaxy Technologies Sirajul Huq and Aleef Trade International Shahidul Islam are the same — Abdul Hakim Chowdhury and Rawsan Ara Begum, according to the trade licences.

The owner of Parents Enterprise is Abdur Rahim and it is a supplier of fogger machines to Dhaka South City Corporation and Dhaka North City Corporation.

Officials of the city corporations said Sirajul Huq conducted all activities of the company and Sirajul also admitted the matter to this correspondent.

Among the bidders, Parents Enterprise quoted Tk3,27,49,112, Galaxy Technologies Tk3,27,59,112 and Aleef Trade International Tk3,27,75,012 for the tender. The gap between the lowest bidder and the two others in price quoting is too minimal, which seems collusive.

One year ago, Sirajul resorted to the same forgery and bagged another contract worth Tk5,39,05,025.203 through his company Galaxy Technologies.

The GCC on 18 October 2023 invited a tender (No. 890115) to purchase 2 lakh litres of Malathion 5%, 2,000 litres of Temephos while  25,000 pieces of  Novaluron 0.12p.

Galaxy Technologies won the bid submitting authorisation of Genetica Industries Limited. But no company had a registration for importing the mosquito-killing chemicals from abroad at that time.

GCC officials said Sirajul colluded with Sudip Basak also to inflate the official cost estimate.

Talking to one of these correspondents at this correspondent office, Sirajul confessed to the forgery and requested him not to publish any report.

Talking to this correspondent on 24 December, GCC Executive Engineer Akram Hosasin Khan, who invited the last tender in October this year, said he merely invited the tender but knows nothing more.

“I invited the tender but my Sir Sudip Basak issued the work orders. Sudip Sir signed the tender deeds as a party and I’m merely a witness signatory. I was not called when the tenders were evaluated but did when a signature was needed. I don’t even maintain a password for using the electronic government procurement portal. Our Sub-Assistant Engineer Amjad Hossain who is a master roll employee maintains it.”

The correspondents obtained the paper that found the claim of Akram as true regarding the signature of Sudip Basak in the work orders but could not collect the deeds.

Akram also alleged that Amjad and GCC Chief Executive Officer ASM Safiul Azam had complicity in it.

Amjad, however, denied the allegation against him.

Talking to this correspondent on 26 December, Sudip Basak said, “We’ve tracked the forgery of Sirajul. Our administrator Sir had ordered us to re-examine his documents. We’ve already found his forgery. The contract will surely be cancelled.”

When asked about his involvement in the forgery, he claimed that he did not receive any financial benefit from the tenders.

GCC administrator Sharaf Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury said, “I’ve approved the latest procurement but I didn’t know the facts. I was told that Dhaka North City Corporation purchased it and there’s no problem with Novaluron 0.12p. But now, I’ve come to know the facts.”

CEO ASM Safiul Azam refused to take the responsibility for any irregularities, saying the administrator and the technical evaluation committee are responsible for this.

Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Secretary Md Nizam Uddin said every file goes to the administrator through the CEO. “As I’ve been informed of the purchase, I’ll look into the matter.”

WHAT EXPERTS SAY

Talking to this correspondent, entomologist Prof Kabirul Bashar of Jahangirnagar University said, “The local government body should procure pesticide and larvicide in a transparent manner and from reputed manufacturers and suppliers as the dengue control largely deepens on quality of these items.”

AKM Fazlul Karim, founding director general of the Central Procurement Technical Unit and procurement expert, said, “Awarding a tender contract to any participant without proper documents mentioned in the condition is illegal. The tender evaluation committee is tasked with verifying all documents. What did they do? Besides, none can be awarded tender without fulfilling tender conditions.”

He suggested punishing corrupt officials who evaluated and approved it and companies if they are found guilty.