Uncertainty looms as DWASA, city corporations fight over jurisdiction

Dhaka WASA and the two city corporations are now locked in a row over the jurisdiction of drainage system making the prospect of solving the city's waterlogging problem clouded as ever.

There is an allegation that the incumbent Dhaka Water and Sewerage Authority (DWASA) managing director has made the drainage division inactive since 2014 by transferring the city's drainage system to two city corporations.

But the board of the DWASA was unaware of such a policy decision. Besides, the transfer was made in violation of the 1996 WASA Act.

The law has to be amended if the responsibility is transferred to another organisation.

Over 178 employees of the drainage division have been drawing salaries without any work for the past two years.

The local government minister Eng Khandker Mosharraf Hossain, in a coordination meeting held on July 15 last, announced that the city corporations would be the lead agencies in controlling the waterlogging problem, not DWASA.

In the meeting, illegal grabbing of major canals, blocking and inadequate rainwater-flowing channels were identified as the reasons for the ever deteriorating waterlogging in the capital.

But mayor Annisul Huq instantly refused to take the responsibility calling the drainage division 'an ICU patient'.

DWASA has 380-kilometre sewer lines, 10.5 km box culverts and 125 km open canals under the drainage division. The sewerage system has a total length of 916 km.

The government allocates Tk 55 million annually for development and maintenance work and about Tk 3.2 million is spent every month for salaries of the employees of this division, a WASA official said seeking anonymity.

There is currently no drainage project although two have been pending for approval in the planning commission since 2014.

Talking to the FE, Architect Mobasher Hossain, who is a panel expert of the city corporations, said that any problem of the city should be the concern of the corporations. If this city is to survive, the mayors must be empowered and made responsible for the city's problems, he added.

"The city corporations should take the drainage responsibility and solve waterlogging problem provided the government gives them full support with adequate manpower, fund, magistracy power and experts. It is a crime to sit idle and make someone sit idle," he said.

Both the agencies have been showing negligence to the city problems which is not right, he added.

Drainage is a division where there is no revenue income, rather there is expenditure only. Besides, 17 canals have been encroached fully while 12 are on the verge of extinction.

The sources also said Dhaka city has 43 canals of which only eight belong to the deputy commissioner of Dhaka and 26 are maintained by DWASA. Most of these canals need regular dredging and cleaning which WASA did not do properly over the years.

City corporations now demand that first WASA reclaim the canals and do the dredging for smooth water flow.

When asked for his comment, Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) chief engineer Brig General Sayeed Anwarul Islam told the FE that a five-member committee headed by an additional secretary has been working on the drainage issue. They will decide what should be done in the matters of handing over the drainage responsibility, including necessary amendments of the law.

Until instruction of the committee is received, the city corporation has nothing to do with the waterlogging problem. But the city corporation is ready to provide support to DWASA in resolving the problem, he added.

Despite repeated calls and messages sent by the scribe, the DWASA MD did not respond.

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