Khulna WASA issues show-cause notices to 13 officials

Khulna Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (KWASA) has issued show-cause notices to 13 officials, including Executive Engineer Md Rezaul Islam, over allegations of submitting duplicate bills for the same water connection under a project.
The irregularity came to light during a review of the final bill documents of a project titled “Laying and Installation of 5,000 Nos connection pipes and fittings to Khulna WASA Consumers.
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In a notice signed by Khulna WASA Secretary Mahera Naznin on Sunday, the authority said its review of the final bill documents revealed that bills had been submitted twice for the same connection. The duplicate billing was described as undesirable and irregular.
The notice issued to Executive Engineer Rezaul Islam said he was aware of the matter and had demonstrated serious negligence and a lack of diligence in discharging his duties.
He was asked to explain why departmental action should not be taken against him under the relevant provisions of the Khulna Water Supply and Sewerage Authority Employees Service Regulations, 2014.
Rezaul has been directed to submit a written explanation to the managing director of Khulna WASA within seven working days of receiving the notice.
Speaking about the allegations, Rezaul said he was not the only official served with a show-cause notice. Four assistant engineers and eight sub-assistant engineers had also received the notices.
He explained that sub-assistant and assistant engineers were responsible for entering and checking bills before forwarding them to his desk for countersignature.
"There may have been checking errors in one or two bills under this project, but this is not a major mistake. I only countersigned the bills. Why is only my involvement being highlighted?" he said.
The names of the four assistant engineers who received notices have been identified as Sardar Rafiqul Alam, Biplab Kumar Majumder, Ashikur Rahman and Maruful Haque.
Meanwhile, several sources said a contractor named Ashraf was officially awarded the project, but the work was carried out by Aminul Islam Munna, a former councillor of Ward No. 15 and an Awami League leader.
Munna also served as a director of Khulna WASA. Sources said he was close to former Khulna City Corporation mayor Talukder Abdul Khaleque and secured several major contracts from WASA and the city corporation.
He has also faced allegations of submitting fraudulent bills and claiming payments twice for the same work at WASA. However, sources alleged that he remained beyond the reach of authorities by carrying out projects under another person's contractor's licence.
The project in question was implemented in 2024. Munna has reportedly been absconding since August 5, 2024.