Massive corruption, nepotism and malpractice marked the allocation of costly land to set up CNG filling stations during the rule of immediate past BNP-led alliance government. The then minister for communications Nazmul Huda and state minister Salahuddin Ahmed who are now behind bars, distributed the government lands in the capital and suburbs at throwaway prices among the 'favourites' including a former state minister, a few former lawmakers, and the relatives and henchmen of BNP leaders. Although there was a selection committee comprising representatives from the communications ministry, Dhaka City Corporation (DCC), Dhaka Wasa, Dhaka Metropolitan Police and the office of the deputy commissioner of Dhaka for scrutinising the applications for plots, the committee hardly sat for a meeting, said a committee member.
The then communications minister and his deputy played the decisive role and made the plot allocation keeping the committee members in the dark, the committee sources said. The then estate officer of DCC Fazluzzoha was on the committee but he never attended any meeting of that committee, he told The Daily Star.
When asked why he did not attend any meeting, Zoha, who is now private secretary to DCC Mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka, said, "I cannot remember, probably because no meeting of that committee was held."
Influential people related to Hawa Bhaban, which many described as the 'alternative power centre', also played a leading role in the allocation of the plots and distributing them among the partymen. After getting the allotment, some of them sold the lands to others for handsome amounts. Other allottees kept the land under their possession but did not set up fuelling stations or make regular payment against the allotment. However, the allotments were not cancelled allegedly due to the allottees' links with the ruling party.