Photo : Collected
During the regime of the previous government, various news of irregularities and corruption in the energy sector were repeatedly discussed in the media and social media. Still, there was no remedy for the complaints against whomever or those who were raised. Rather, the accused have been inflated in various ways. Their wealth has increased. A large part of the wealth has been smuggled abroad. Development was the most interesting campaign of the last government.
There is no denying that the touch of development has not reached all corners of the country. But in the picture of development that has emerged, the biggest concern is unnecessary and unplanned development; Which in fact has made the scale of waste much heavier than the benefits of the country. A major area of waste was our energy sector. For the development of this sector, many mega projects were taken during the regime of the previous government. As we know, the main condition of development is energy. Real development is not possible without enriching and fulfilling this sector. Any productivity requires fuel.
Energy is the main driving force of production and development. Fueling is not only expensive, but also very time-consuming. Therefore, to meet the country's energy deficit, the initiative of generating electricity by quick rental method was taken during the previous government's tenure. That initiative puts our economy at risk, experts warn, of the scale of destruction it will lead to. There have been reports about them in the media as well. There is a saying, a thief does not listen to the story of religion.
As the old saying goes, one quick rental after another has been approved over the past decade and a half, ignoring expert advice; Which subsequently rests on our shoulders like the giant of Sindabad. The economy also contributes to increasing inflation in the economy. An alarming picture of that irregularity emerged in the report of the daily newspapers recently. The previous government invested more than 8 thousand crore rupees behind three gas-based power generation plants in Khulna. But the supply of gas to these power generation centers was not ensured, so the power generation centers did not see the face of production.
From the published reports, it is also known that these three power plants built with the financing of the Asian Development Bank are given gas to four other private plants that are not named in the list without ensuring gas supply. As a result, these three government power plants with a production capacity of 1000 MW became uncertain. However, prior to the construction of the power plants, 100% gas supply assurance from Petrobangla and DPP approval for the project from Eknec was given. In view of which ADB signed the loan agreement.
Not only the power sector, but the same has been wasted in the gas sector as well. Redundant gas supply lines have been installed. Through which thousands of crores of rupees have been lost. According to the published report, when GTCL started its journey through registration as a company on December 4, 1993, its transmission line was 544 km. But at the end of the financial year 2022-23, the transmission line of GTCL stood at 2 thousand 167 km. Even if the production or supply of gas does not increase, the entire cost of extending this transmission line is spent only to implement the political promises of the Awami League government.
Energy demand in the country is constantly increasing. There is no alternative to focus on the energy sector to keep the wheels of development and production moving. We want to see power and energy sector free from corruption. In order to continue our progress, the interim government must ensure that the energy sector does not stumble in any way. Besides, the government should take immediate initiative to decommission unnecessary and power generation plants sitting on the shoulders like the giant of Sindabad.
There is no alternative to uninterrupted electricity, the government has to set a target to build power plants and have alternative systems to meet that demand. Along with this, a well-thought-out plan should be taken to continue the development of the power system, which is indeed realistic and timely. All processes of production, transmission, distribution system should be done without question. The source of the irregularities in the energy sector should be found and the wastage should also be stopped.
Messenger/Disha
