Tk25K chairs, Tk85K tables for office assistants!

An ergonomic chair for Tk15,000-Tk25,000 and a table for Tk45,000-Tk85,000 – this is how much the public administration ministry wants to spend on office furniture for its grade-20 staff, the lowest paid government employees, at the Department of Government Transport Pool.

The ministry in a proposal has sought Tk9 crore for purchasing furniture under a project to construct a multi-storey building with multi-level car parking facilities involving a cost of over Tk436 crore.

But the Project Evaluation Committee, at a meeting, has questioned the rationale behind such inflated pricing and sent it back for a logical revision.

As per estimated prices, each table for office assistants, accounting assistants and cashiers will cost Tk45,000, while one for office assistants at the Law Wing has been priced at Tk65,000.  Tables for four office assistants at the Bangla Language Implementation Cell will cost Tk85,000 each, and a revolving chair for them will be purchased at Tk25,000, according to the Planning Commission.

The commission has suggested choosing furniture types as per job grades of employees and re-estimating purchasing costs in keeping with current market prices.

Leading furniture makers Hatil, Otobi and Navana now sell an office chair at Tk6,000-Tk9,000 depending on quality, while they charge a minimum of Tk7,000 for a table.

Utpol Kumar, assistant manager at Otobi's Panthapath outlet, said the firm also sells chairs at Tk20,000-Tk25,000. The buyers of such chairs are well-off people.

The chairs bought from Otobi for government officials range between Tk8,000 and Tk9,000, he also said. 

Prices of tables for chief executives and managing directors start from Tk24,000 each, he added, noting that a secretariat table is sold at the same price.

At the outlet of Navana Furniture at the same location, an executive chair sells at a minimum of Tk9,000. Prices of all official chairs and tables are almost similar to Otobi's. 

As per a circular issued by the public administration ministry, only assistant secretaries to higher officials are entitled to get revolving chairs. 

Experts have questioned the rationale behind the ministry's proposal to purchase revolving chairs for grade-20 employees at Tk25,000 each.

Ali Imam Majumder, former secretary of the Cabinet Division, said such inflated price estimates for government projects are nothing but madness. It is an attempt to waste resources. 

"At present, a secretariat table is available for Tk85,000. Why should this table be given to office assistants? Will they study there? Will they see files?" he questioned.

Under the Tk436 crore project, a 20-storey building will be constructed. Half of it will be used for multi-level car parking. There will be facilities for 802 cars to be parked there. As a result, traffic congestion at the secretariat area will be eased as claimed in the project document.

Once the project, following necessary revision, gets the go-ahead from the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council, the Department of Government Transport Pool and Public Works Department will implement it by June 2025.

Md Mamun Al Rashid, member of the Physical Infrastructure Division and secretary of the Planning Division, said objections were raised in the PEC meeting about three conference rooms in the new building, but it was informed that various meetings are often held in the Department of Government Transport Pool's building.

The meeting agreed on the need for a new building of the transport department because of an increase in the number of government vehicles, but it recommended bringing down estimated costs in some sectors to a reasonable level, Md Mamun Al Rashid, who presided over the meeting, stated.

At the meeting It was also recommended that a study report be prepared on what kind of impact this building will have on the traffic situation in the capital.

Stating that the project proposal has been sent back with various recommendations, he said the process of presenting the proposal before Ecnec will get underway after necessary revision is submitted to the commission.

A public administration ministry official, who was engaged in preparing the project proposal, said the number of employees at the Department of Government Transport Pool will increase slightly. Considering this, more furniture than with the existing manpower in the organogram is being purchased.

Some wings of the ministry will be shifted to the new building. Furniture is also being bought for them under this project, he noted.

Asked about the rationale behind the proposal to buy a chair worth Tk25,000, he declined to make comments and passed the question to the Department of Government Transport Pool.

But Transport Commissioner Md Abdus Sattar could not be contacted as he declined to meet this reporter.