Questions mount over allegations against senior NHA Engineer

Alleged Land grabbing, embezzlement, tender manipulation and political violence put official under scrutiny

Serious allegations have emerged against Mohammad Harizur Rahman, supervising engineer of the Dhaka Circle of Bangladesh's National Housing Authority (NHA), ranging from alleged encroachment on government land and embezzlement to interference in tenders and housing projects, irregularities in flat allocations and alleged financing of efforts to suppress the 2024 student-led protests.

Some of the allegations have already reached the courts or the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), according to case records and reports cited in connection with the complaints.

Despite the allegations, Harizur remains in a senior position at the NHA, raising questions about how the authority handles officials facing serious criminal and corruption allegations while they continue to exercise administrative and project-related powers.

The issue has also raised a broader question: are Bangladesh's oversight mechanisms capable of preventing an accused official from influencing projects, tenders and property-related decisions while investigations are under way?

Case over government land and Tk 374.4 million

One of the most significant documented allegations concerns government land in Pallabi's Jhilpar area of Dhaka.

The ACC filed a case in July 2025 against former parliamentarian Mohammad Elias Uddin Mollah and four NHA officials over alleged illegal occupation and financial irregularities involving around seven acres of government land.

Harizur Rahman, who was then a sub-divisional engineer, was among the accused, according to the case details cited in reports.

The ACC alleged that the land remained under illegal occupation for years and that between 650 and 700 tin-roofed structures were built there. Rent collected from those structures allegedly amounted to around Tk 374.4 million between 2008 and January 20, 2025.

The land was subsequently recovered during an operation on January 21, according to the allegations.

The case was filed under several provisions of Bangladesh's Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947.

The allegations remain subject to judicial proceedings and should be distinguished from established findings of guilt.

Alleged irregularities in Mirpur housing project

Another set of allegations centres on the NHA's residential apartment project in Mirpur Section 9, known as the “15 14-storey Residential Flats Construction — Phase II” project.

The project is included in the government's Annual Development Programme, or ADP, for the 2025-26 fiscal year.

According to allegations cited in connection with the project, unused and obsolete materials with an estimated market value of around Tk 7.44 million were allegedly sold before the tender process had been properly completed.

The materials were subsequently shown in official documents as having a value of only around Tk 744,000, according to the complaint.

Sub-divisional engineer Mohammad Sakhawat Hossain has also been named in allegations related to the matter.

Claims have additionally been made about substantial assets allegedly held by Hossain and members of his family in different parts of Dhaka.

Such claims, however, require verification through income-tax records, land registration documents, bank records and legally obtained asset declarations.

Housing projects and the question of flat allocations

Another controversy surrounds the Konakchampa and Dolonchampa housing projects at Asad Avenue and Sat Masjid Road in Mohammadpur Housing Estate.

The projects involve residential flats and are included in government development documents.

Complainants allege that the approved project cost increased from around Tk 4.69 billion to Tk 5.411 billion.

At the same time, the number of flats reportedly reserved for residents affected by the redevelopment was allegedly reduced from 253 to 118.

The complainants further allege that some of the remaining flats were sought to be allocated in violation of applicable rules to politically connected individuals and officials.

Harizur Rahman has been accused by complainants of playing a central role in the alleged irregularities.

Those claims would need to be tested against the original project approval, revised development project proposal, minutes of NHA board meetings, allocation lists and lottery records.

Without those documents, it would be premature to establish whether the alleged changes were unlawful or whether the allocation process was improperly influenced.

Nearly two decades in Dhaka

Another issue raised by complainants is Harizur's long tenure in Dhaka.

They allege that remaining in important positions in the capital for many years allowed him to develop an influential administrative network involving officials, contractors and other stakeholders.

According to the allegations, such a network may have enabled influence over tenders, government land management and the allocation of flats and plots.

These claims would require an independent administrative review of his posting and transfer history, as well as the records of officials who worked under or alongside him during the relevant periods.

Allegations of tender influence

The Dhaka Circle of the NHA oversees a range of public housing and development projects, giving engineering officials significant responsibilities in project implementation, measurement of works, quality control and contractor-related procedures.

That authority has placed the engineering wing at the centre of allegations of tender manipulation.

Complainants claim that a group of officials and contractors developed a system through which particular companies repeatedly benefited from housing projects.

The allegations could be tested through electronic government procurement, or e-GP, records, tender documents, work orders, evaluation committee reports and measurement books.

A review of those records could establish whether the same companies repeatedly secured contracts, whether competition was genuine and whether procurement rules were followed.

Allegations of broker dependence

The NHA's services affect thousands of citizens seeking flats, plots, transfers, mutations and other housing-related approvals.

Yet residents and service seekers have long complained about alleged broker dependence, delays in processing files and demands for unofficial payments in parts of the housing administration.

Complainants associated with the Dhaka Circle allege that some services become difficult to obtain without intermediaries or payments, and that officials or employees who challenge irregular practices may face pressure.

If substantiated, such allegations would point beyond an individual official to broader weaknesses in the institution's service-delivery system.

That is why an audit of the Dhaka Circle's file processing, allocation procedures and customer services may be necessary alongside any investigation of individual officials.

Three officials named in complaints

Harizur Rahman is not the only NHA official whose name has surfaced in connection with the allegations.

Executive engineer Mohammad Kawsar Morshed and sub-divisional engineer Mohammad Sakhawat Hossain have also been named in complaints relating primarily to project implementation, field operations, tender procedures and alleged financial irregularities.

The allegations against each official need to be examined separately, based on documentary evidence, ongoing investigations, departmental proceedings and court records.

Being named in a complaint or criminal case does not by itself establish guilt.

A separate case over the 2024 protests

A recently published report said a case was filed at Mirpur Model Police Station on May 12, 2025, accusing Harizur Rahman of allegedly conspiring to finance efforts to suppress the student-led protests in 2024.

The report said he was accused in connection with an alleged attack on protesters in the Mirpur-10 area on July 18, 2024.

The same report quoted the NHA chairman as saying that he had not previously been aware of the case and that action would be taken if a case against the official was confirmed.

The allegation is a separate criminal matter and should be determined through due legal process.

Why the NHA's response matters

The central issue now extends beyond the allegations against one engineer.

When a senior government official faces criminal and corruption cases, questions naturally arise over whether he should continue exercising authority over public projects, procurement and property-related decisions while investigations are pending.

That does not mean an accused person should automatically be treated as guilty.

But it does raise legitimate questions about conflict-of-interest safeguards, administrative oversight and whether officials facing serious allegations should be temporarily removed from sensitive responsibilities when necessary to protect evidence and public confidence.

The NHA's response will therefore be closely watched.

Follow the documents, not the rumours

A credible investigation into the allegations would require more than statements from complainants or media reports.

Several categories of records could provide answers:

• Harizur Rahman's posting and transfer history over the past two decades;

• income-tax returns and declared assets;

• land registration and property records involving him and relevant family members;

• legally obtained banking and financial records;

• e-GP and tender data for projects under the Dhaka Circle;

• contractor participation and award histories;

• work orders and project measurement books;

• documents relating to the seven-acre Jhilpar land;

• records concerning the alleged sale of obsolete materials at the Mirpur project;

• original and revised project proposals for the Dolonchampa and Konakchampa projects;

• NHA board meeting minutes;

• flat allocation and lottery records; and

• records of any departmental proceedings against the officials concerned.

Taken together, such records could help determine whether the allegations reflect isolated incidents or a wider pattern of administrative and financial misconduct.

The larger accountability question

Government housing land and development projects involve public money and public assets. Any allegation of corruption in such a system therefore carries implications beyond the officials named in a complaint.

If the allegations against Harizur Rahman and others are substantiated, those responsible should face appropriate legal and administrative consequences.

If the allegations are not supported by evidence, the officials should have the opportunity to clear their names through a transparent process.

What matters most is that investigations are independent, evidence-based and protected from political or institutional influence.

The case also raises a broader question for Bangladesh's public administration: what happens when officials entrusted with managing public land and housing projects themselves come under serious criminal and corruption allegations?

For the National Housing Authority, the Ministry of Housing and Public Works and the Anti-Corruption Commission, the answer should lie not in political affiliations or competing claims, but in documents, evidence and due process.

Until investigations and courts establish the facts, the allegations remain allegations.

But the number and seriousness of the claims make one thing clear: the demand for transparent scrutiny is no longer simply about one engineer. It is about whether a public institution can protect government land, public money and housing rights while holding its own officials accountable.