Rose Garden scandal: Hasina’s whim costs nation Tk 332-crore

Reza Mahmud :

The fallen prime minister Shiekh Hasina while in office had spent about Tk 332 crore from the public exchequer to acquire the Old Dhaka building called Rose Garden, allegedly to fulfill her ‘personal whims’ which experts termed a serious autocratic mania and called for exemplary punitive actions.

Sources said Hasina also handed over one bigha of land in Gulshan with a house worth hundreds of crores of taka -leaving the exchequer suffer losses estimated at over Tk 332 crore.

Officials of the Public Works Ministry said corruption marked every stage-from acquisition and registration to payment. Advisers to the interim government now state the deal violated the Public Procurement Act and at least three other laws.

“The more we examine the documents, the more shocked we are,” one adviser said, accusing Hasina of grossly abusing executive power.

Experts said, one former prime minister spent several hundred crore of taka from the public money only for protecting her party’s memorial, is a serious corruption.

They said for a poverty-stricken country, taka 332 crore is a huge amount which can help alleviate poverty to a great extent.

When contacted, Dr Iftekharuzzaman, Executive Director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) told The New Nation on Saturday, “Spending about 332cr of taka from state treasury only for fulfilling Hasina’s wish is a grave example of plundering public money. Protecting party memorial is not people’s interest and it should be tried.”

He said, “If the state failed to take stern punitive actions against Hasina on this issue, it will be a worst example of getting impunity of such a grave crime.”

The good governance advocate said assuring exemplary punitive actions against Hasina means no future prime ministers could do such heinous acts.

Sources said, corruption occurred in different stages of purchasing the building.

Documents show that Hasina first directed the Cultural Affairs Ministry in early 2018 to acquire the property, citing Awami League’s 1949 formation at the site. Cultural Affairs Secretary Md. Nasir Uddin Ahmed then wrote to the Public Works Ministry. A 25-page valuation report assessed the house at Tk 105.29 crore.

Yet, through the involvement of Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor, Housing Minister Engineer Mosharraf Hossain, Law Minister Anisul Huq, Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, Land Minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, and senior secretaries, the price was repeatedly inflated.

Eventually the state paid Tk 331.70 crore-over three times the valuation-while also handing over a one-Bigha Gulshan property as “compensation” to the sellers.

Price Manipulation: At first, an inter-ministerial committee valued the house at Tk 105.29 crore. Following seller objections, the price rose to Tk 210.50 crore. In May 2018, Hasina approved a proposal to pay Tk 340 crore. The final amount settled at Tk 331.70 crore, though no official explanation exists for this escalation.

The Gulshan property later transferred to the seller’s heirs is now under redevelopment by a private developer. How much of the inflated sum reached the original owner’s family remains unclear.

Law Ministry Sidestepped: Officials confirmed that the proposal was initially sent to the Law Ministry for vetting. When legal officers indicated it was unlawful, the file was withdrawn. Later, Law Minister Anisul Huq reportedly gave only a verbal “go-ahead,” noting that the approval was “as per higher instructions.”

A senior legal officer said the proposal had no basis in law, relying solely on the “prime minister’s wish.” Competitive surveys, required under the Public Procurement Act, were ignored since the purchase served a political party’s interests, not state necessity.

Cultural Affairs Ministry Assumes Control: On July 17, 2019, the house was formally transferred from Public Works to the Cultural Affairs Ministry at a token price of Tk 1001. The property is now divided among the National Museum, Shilpakala Academy, and Department of Archaeology for preservation.

Officials acknowledged that the house had been declared a heritage site once before in 1989, but the High Court later restored it to private ownership. Locals maintain its original name was Rashid Manzil, built in 1931 by Rishikesh Das, and later owned by Humayun Rashid.

Public Reaction and Interim Government’s View: Elderly residents of Tikatuli scoffed at the name Rose Garden. “This is Humayun Sahib’s house,” said one. Another added that Hasina had exaggerated its significance.

After Hasina’s downfall and flight on August 5, 2024, the interim government moved quickly to remove Awami League-linked plaques and symbols. “The property now belongs to the state, not a party,” Cultural Affairs Secretary Md. Mofidur Rahman said. “We are preserving it as national heritage.”

An official supervising renovation remarked: “There is a pond and an old building. Perhaps the museum will add some exhibits. But what is clear is that more than Tk 400 crore of state resources were squandered to please one individual.”