Land for intellectually challenged children being given to developer

At a press conference at the National Press Club, the parents said Norwegian Association for the Mentally Retarded, an association of the parents of intellectually challenged children in Norway, donated a plot of 34.62 katha (20 katha is equal to one bigha) at Eskaton area in the city to SWID for the development of intellectually challenged in Bangladesh.

At the 27th annual general meeting in 2004, the NEC was instructed to present a project profile on the land but the committee failed to comply it.

However, the annual report of the 27th general meeting was unanimously approved at the 28th general meeting in 2005, said Salma Haque, mother of an intellectually challenged.

"But the present executive committee ignored the decision of the 28th general meeting and unilaterally signed an agreement with Domm Inou for handing over the ownership of the land and constructing there an apartment building," she alleged.

The NEC distorted the annual report of the 28th general meeting and presented it at the 29th annual general meeting on April 29 this year, said ANM Khairul Bashar, father of an intellectually challenged.

The committee included the agreement with Domm Inou in the agenda of the 29th general meeting for approval shrewdly when the contract had already been signed, he added.

As a result, initiating projects for the development of the intellectually challenged has been closed forever, he said, adding that SWID itself could design a project and construct building for income generation and education of the challenged.

The speakers said the NEC neither secured the approval of the social welfare department nor selected the developer through an open tender making it clear that the committee has vested interests in signing the agreement with the real estate company.

They said there are about 7000 intellectually challenged children receiving education in 44 branches of SWID which is financed by private as well as government donations.

The NEC has no contribution to its funding, they added.

"This illegal contract by the executive committee of SWID must be cancelled," demanded SR Akhtar, another guardian.

When contacted, NEC President MA Baten denied the allegations saying the land had been vacant for the last 20 years, but nobody came up with any plan or projects.

He also said as there is a case filed by a guardian of a challenged child in the court in this regard, he should not make any comment.