The High Court has halted the appointment of Engineer AKM Shahid Uddin as the Managing Director (MD) of Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority, also known as Dhaka Wasa.
Simultaneously, the HC directed the relevant government authorities to promptly appoint the most senior Deputy Managing Director of the organisation as its Managing Director.
The High Court bench of Justice Ashish Ranjan Das and Justice Fahmida Quader issued the order on September 5 after hearing a writ petition challenging the legality of AKM Shahid's appointment.
Lawyer Syed Mamun Mahbub, representing the writ petitioner, confirmed the court order. The court also issued a rule to the government respondents to explain why the appointment of Dhaka Wasa MD should not be deemed illegal, according to the lawyer.
Engineer Taqsem A Khan was initially appointed as the Managing Director of Dhaka Wasa in 2009.
His term was extended multiple times, and on October 14, 2023, he was reappointed for another three years. Despite allegations of corruption and irregularities against Taqsem, the government's repeated appointments of him raised concerns.
However, he resigned from the position on August 14 this year after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5 following an uprising. The next day, Dhaka Wasa issued a notification canceling his contractual appointment.
The notification stated that the most senior Deputy Managing Director at Dhaka Wasa would assume all Managing Director duties until a new appointment was made.
Nevertheless, in violation of the seniority policy, AKM Shahid Uddin, also a DMD, was appointed as the MD of the organization. Anisuzzman Shahin Khan, President of Dhaka Wasa Labour Union, challenged the appointment through a writ petition, leading to the HC's order.
AKM Shahid Uddin retired as Chief Engineer from Dhaka Wasa in 2016. Later, Taqsem A Khan appointed him in 2018 as a Director (Technical) on a contractual basis, even though Dhaka Wasa did not have such a position.
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