The secretary of the Nilganj Union Parishad in Kalapara Upazila of Patuakhali has been accused of embezzling tax money. The residents of the area believe that the administration of the council may be involved in this. This year, various irregularities and corruption in the collection of house tax under the Nilganj Union Parishad in Kalapara Upazila are now being reported by the common people, UP members and village police.

There is extreme anger among the members of the council over such activities. However, the council administrator and secretary are getting responsible answers. The locals are seeking the attention of the appropriate authorities to look into the matter. It is learned that Upazila Agricultural Extension Officer Md. Nahidul Islam was appointed as the administrator to manage the Nilganj Union Parishad after August 5, 2024.

Since then, small and big irregularities have been happening in the union. A third party was given the responsibility to collect the UP tax money for the latest year.
That party took the responsibility of collecting the tax money per household in exchange for a certain commission. The UP administrator gave the secretary the responsibility of understanding the tax money. But between the collection from the field and the receipt of the deposit, there remained a “good omen”.

According to the local village police and UP members, more than 9 lakh taka has been collected from 9 wards of the union. However, 5 lakh 50 thousand taka has been deposited in the Union Parishad fund. No one is getting a satisfactory answer about the remaining money collected. The administrator says that the secretary knows, while the secretary’s answer is that he deposited the money after seeing the receipt.

There has been extreme anger among the Union Parishad members and the village police over the matter. They said that more than 9 lakh taka has been collected from 9 wards as Union Parishad tax. Of that, 5 lakh 50 thousand taka has been deposited in the account of Nilganj Union Parishad. No one is answering the question of where the rest of the money went. On condition of anonymity, some local village police said that their salaries are paid with tax money.

However, they strongly condemned and protested why the withdrawn money was deposited less. In this regard, Nilganj Union Parishad Secretary Md. Hasnat Titu said that he deposited the money he received in the receipt. He does not know anything beyond that. However, he could not give a good answer to the question of why the UP members or the village police were not informed when the receipt was deposited and the money was received from the third party. However, he said that the administrator is aware of this matter. Meanwhile, Nilganj Union Parishad Administrator Md. Nahidul Islam said, “The secretary can tell us about this.

However, the amount that the third party gave to the secretary was probably around 5 lakh 50 thousand. The third party and the village police can tell us how much money was actually collected. Moreover, we have asked the third parties to whom we have contracted to collect taxes for an explanation. We will ask them for an explanation again. If anything illegal happens, action will be taken according to the law.” Kalapara Upazila Executive Officer Md. Arifuzzaman said, we need to know where the rest of the money went. He said he would go to the council and verify the matter.