Editorial
Plot allotment application hiccup
Those found guilty of inserting fake TINs must be weeded out
The Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) will cancel its plot allotments in Gazipur and Uttara for individuals found to have submitted fake tax identification numbers (TINs). That is an appreciable decision and we are happy to note that the organisation will be assisted by the National Board of Revenue in the job of identifying people submitting fake TINs. Given a context where individuals have been supplying false TINs in a number of vital areas, it makes plain good sense to launch a campaign toward bringing the guilty to book. Where the cancellation of plots is concerned, however, the question here is one of why the TINs must be looked into after a decision on the allotments has already been made. The logical move here would be for the NBR to go for a verification of all TINs submitted by applicants before Rajuk makes its final decisions on the matter.
The NBR has already decided to go into the job of checking all applications relating to the plots. And the applications, we understand, have run into very large numbers, with many more expected between now and mid-January, the deadline for submission of such applications. Checking them meticulously is a task that simply has to be done if in the final analysis plot allotments are not to end up being questionable affairs. We have also been informed that a rather large number of fake TINs have already been detected. It only hints at the degree of the problem that the NBR and Rajuk may have on their hands. We suggest, therefore, that all decisions on allotments be made once the NBR authorities have conclusively looked into the applications. If that is not done, if indeed Rajuk is compelled to cancel allotments after false TINs are detected, it will prove not only embarrassing for the body but also lead to complications in the entire allotment process.
Last but not least, it must be noted that middle-income families have in large numbers applied for the plots. It says a lot about the housing situation in the capital that so many thousands of people have sought plots under the altogether 8,000-plus plot Purbachal project in Gazipur and the third phase of the Uttara project in Dhaka. It is, therefore, important that the process of allotment be handled with absolute transparency. Any attempt to influence the decisions on allotments should be put down decisively. No controversy should mar the process.
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