Leadership vacuum cripples Dhaka metro

Dhaka's metro-rail operator has slipped into fresh uncertainty, with almost all its senior leadership positions vacant and a growing internal dispute threatening administrative stability.

As the Managing Director's appointment is cancelled and key project directors' contracts expire, Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) now faces a parallel legal battle over whether project-based staff should be absorbed into the permanent structure of the company.

According to sources, the post of Managing Director (MD) of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited remains vacant after the cancellation on Monday of the incumbent's three-year appointment.

At the same time, the positions of Project Directors (PDs) for MRT-1, MRT-6 and MRT-5 North are also vacant following the expiry of their contractual terms.

Only the PD of MRT-5 South formally remains in position. However, that project itself has remained stalled after failing to secure approval during the interim government's tenure.

The same official has now been given additional charge of MRT-1 and MRT-6, further concentrating responsibilities amid the leadership shortfall.

Insiders say the vacuum at the top has created operational strain at a time when the company is already grappling with internal tensions.

The situation has been further complicated by a writ petition filed by officials and employees recruited under the MRT-1, MRT-6 and MRT-5 North projects. They are seeking absorption into DMTCL as permanent staff.

Their demands include formal incorporation into the company's recently approved service rules and confirmation of their positions within the organisational structure.

Although recruited on a project basis, many of these officials and employees have already been placed in administrative roles within DMTCL.

However, directly recruited DMTCL staff have strongly opposed the move.

A group of aggrieved employees staged a protest on Tuesday in front of the Director (Administration), objecting to the proposed absorption of project-based staff into the permanent cadre.

The dispute has a long history. According to sources, disagreement over the absorption issue delayed approval of DMTCL's service rules for several years.

The board finally approved the rules last December without resolving the matter, triggering protests by staff in Grade-10 and above. The unrest briefly led to a temporary halt in metro rail operations that month.

"I don't know what is going on. Everything is messed up," said a senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Mohammad Anisur Rahman, Additional Secretary of the Road Transport and Highways Division (RTHD), who is currently overseeing the MD's responsibilities, said steps are being taken to address the situation.

"Work is going on," he told The Financial Express when asked about the leadership gap and the staff dispute.

According to insiders, while the PD of MRT-5 South has been assigned additional responsibility for MRT-1 and MRT-6, the contract of the MRT-5 North PD expired on 1 March.

This has left several of the company's flagship  projects without dedicated leadership at a critical stage.

The RTHD formally cancelled the MD's appointment through a circular issued on 2 March.

The outgoing MD had been appointed during the interim government's tenure and was the country's first expatriate Bangladeshi engineer to head the state-owned company. He joined on 9 February last year under a three-year contract.

Since DMTCL's formation in 2013, the MD post had traditionally been held by senior bureaucrats, including former secretary of the RTHD.

The current leadership vacuum reflects DMTCL's longstanding reliance on contractual appointments.

The PD posts have largely been filled either by retired government officials or officers on deputation from agencies such as Bangladesh Railway and the Roads and Highways Department. With multiple contracts expiring simultaneously, the company now finds itself without stable project leadership across most of its ongoing MRT lines, insiders say.

smunima@yahoo.com