School boundary remains unfinished despite full payment
Allegations have surfaced in Dimla Upazila of Nilphamari that a government-funded primary school infrastructure project was falsely reported as 100 percent complete in the Primary Education Infrastructure Management System (PEIMS), despite significant construction work remaining unfinished.
The alleged false reporting enabled the contractor to withdraw the full and final payment, prompting accusations of misappropriation of public funds against the supervising officials and the contractor.
According to the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) office, under the Fourth Primary Education Development Programme (PEDP-4) for the 2022-23 fiscal year, tenders were invited for the construction of boundary walls and entrance gates at Ramdanga Majhipara Government Primary School and Middle Chatnai Government Primary School in Dimla Upazila.
On February 28, 2023, the contract was awarded to HS Enterprise of Hatibandha upazila in Lalmonirhat district for BDT 2,699,999, with the work scheduled to be completed by August 8, 2023. Locals allege that the contractor received the final payment after the project was uploaded to the PEIMS software as fully completed.
even though construction at Ramdanga Majhipara Government Primary School remained unfinished.
A recent on-site visit found that several components were still incomplete, including the iron grills on top of the boundary wall, the main steel gate, the school name signboard, and a section of the boundary wall itself.
The wall has also not been fully painted, allowing moss to grow on parts of the structure.
Residents further alleged that substandard construction materials-including low-quality steel rods, third-grade broken bricks, poor-quality brick chips, and insufficient cement-were used.
They also claimed that proper curing procedures were not followed, raising concerns about the durability of the structure.
Headmaster Profullo Kumar Chakraborty said, “We repeatedly urged the contractor to complete the work, but it was never finished.
The school did not issue any completion certificate or work completion report. We do not understand how the final bill was approved without our knowledge.”
The school currently has 187 students and five teachers. Because the main gate and boundary wall remain incomplete, cattle regularly enter the school premises, creating an unhygienic environment and disrupting classes while posing safety risks to students.
Former Upazila Engineer Shafiur Rahman, who was in charge of the project at the time and is now on Leave Preparatory to Retirement (LPR), and Surveyor Shakil Hossain have been accused of uploading false completion information to the PEIMS system.
When contacted by phone, Shafiur Rahman denied any wrongdoing, saying, “I was ill at the time and was in India for medical treatment in 2023. Field-level supervision was handled by the assistant engineer. The plan was to use the contractor’s security deposit to complete the remaining work.”
Asked why the project remains unfinished despite the final payment being released in 2023, he said, “The subcontractors involved were influential, making it difficult to take action against them.
However, the contractor’s security deposit is still held by the office, and the remaining work will be completed through another party.”
Surveyor Shakil Hossain admitted his mistake, stating, “I made the mistake without fully understanding the matter. I acknowledge my wrongdoing and will ensure the remaining work is completed as soon as possible.” Repeated attempts to contact HS Enterprise for comment were unsuccessful.
