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Published : 15 Apr 2026, 09:19 AM
The Roads and Highways Department (RHD) has appointed a senior engineer as a project director on a new venture despite an ongoing investigation against him into allegations of releasing payments before completion of work.
The appointment comes after a departmental probe found initial evidence of “negligence of duty”, leading to a case over an offence punishable with a major penalty, while the matter remains unresolved.
The official, Md Shawkat Ali, serves as an additional chief engineer of RHD in the Mymensingh Road Zone.
He has been made project director for the “Sylhet–Tamabil Highway Four-Lane Upgrade with Separate SMVT Lane” project.
Earlier, during his tenure as additional chief engineer in the Cumilla Road Zone between 2020 and 2022, allegations emerged that full payment and security deposits were released to a contractor before completion of work under the “Nabinagar–Shibpur–Radhika Regional Highway Construction and Development (R-203)” project.
A departmental inquiry was launched, followed by a case.
Despite the ongoing case, an office order on Mar 2 assigned him as project director, signed by Deputy Secretary Taslima Ahmed Poly of the Road Transport and Highways Division, with approval from higher authorities.
On appointing an official facing a departmental case, Poly said there is no problem in posting an officer while the case remains ongoing, as he has not been suspended and no punishment has been awarded.
She said if any penalty is imposed, he will have to leave the post.
Former secretary AKM Abdul Awal Mazumder also said there is no mandatory restriction on assigning new responsibilities before case disposal, though he pointed to ethical concerns.
The former rector of the Bangladesh Public Administration Training Centre told bdnews24.com, “In the Bangladeshi context, it is difficult to answer this question. Many things are possible in Bangladesh.
“Why allegations are brought against someone and how a new government assigns them new responsibilities is a very difficult matter to judge from a policy or ethical point of view.
“So, I think it is not appropriate to comment on this.”
Shawkat declined to comment and ended a phone call after being informed the caller was a journalist.
However, in his written reply to a show-cause notice and chargesheet, he denied all seven allegations, claiming no violation of rules.
He said he was not the project director but served only as the procuring officer, while the project manager and director were based in Brahmanbaria.
Chief Engineer Syed Moinul Hasan could not be reached despite attempts at his Tejgaon office and via phone and SMS. The same applied to Road Transport Secretary Mohammad Ziaul Haque.
Road Transport Minister Shaikh Rabiul Alam and State Minister Habibur Rashid did not respond to calls or messages either.
Allegations
According to the chargesheet, Shawkat was the final approving authority for bills during the project period.
At the time payments were cleared, parts of five bridge approach roads and other works remained incomplete.
Despite this, the contractor withdrew the final bill on Jun 30, 2021, after declaring completion on Jun 7 that year.
Fifty percent of the security deposit was also released on Sept 1.
A two-member probe committee later found initial evidence supporting the allegation that payments and deposits were cleared before completion.
A show-cause notice was issued on Mar 12, 2024, citing potential violations under the Government Servants (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 2018.
Following his response, a formal departmental case was filed on Aug 1 that year, which remains pending.
The chargesheet says “he failed to properly verify work measurements and quantities despite being formally informed, amounting to negligence and misconduct under the rules”.
Project Timeline
The project to link Brahmanbaria town with Nabinagar and Bancharampur Upazilas through an 18-km regional highway was approved in 2017 at an Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) meeting, with an initial cost of Tk 3.43 billion and a completion target of June 2020.
Rana Builders Limited and Abdul Monem Limited JV were awarded the contract.
The deadline was later extended twice to June 2024, raising the total cost to Tk 4.39 billion.
Although the final two packages were completed on Jun 30, 2024, approvals for final payment and security release had already been granted on Jun 29, 2021, declaring the “project complete”.
The project’s last director Mir Nizam Uddin said he took charge when work remained partially incomplete and completed it by Jun 30, 2024, before moving to another assignment.
He declined to comment on earlier phases or allegations.
