Photo: Collected
The BNP on Thursday demanded that the interim government make public all the contracts signed in the power and energy sectors during the 15 years of Sheikh Hasina's rule.
"I urge the interim government to disclose every contract signed in the power sector over the past 15 years they (AL govt) flouted all public procurement rules. These contracts were awarded through closed tenders, bypassing the legal procedures according to their own preferences. The people have a right to know these details," said BNP leader Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku.
He made the demand while speaking at a press conference organised by the BNP at the party chairperson's office in Gulshan. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir also spoke at the press meet.
Tuku, a BNP standing committee member and former state minister for power, said the nation wants to see the deals signed with various local and international companies in the power and energy sectors.
"How they (AL govt) made these contracts should be made public... The first task of the interim government is to disclose these contracts," he said.
The BNP leader said Sheikh Hasina's Awami League government has exploited the people of Bangladesh by creating an illusion in the electricity sector, while simultaneously draining the pockets of the public.
"Everyone pays the electricity bill, and everyone is a victim. In fact, they turned power into a business sector... they realised that quick money could be made from this sector without any accountability, because electricity is like 'air' - it cannot be seen," he said.
Tuku stated that around Tk 1,00,000 crore has been looted in the name of capacity charges during the Awami League regime.
Presenting corruption statistics in the power sector, Tuku said, "The total expenditure over the last 15 years in the power sector is approximately Tk 3,33,940 crore. Of this, around Tk 1,00,000 crore has been looted under the guise of capacity charges."
He said the government simply siphoned off public money from the power sector in various ways, including making payments to private power plants even though they were not operational.
The former state minister for power further said, "Most of the machines at the companies receiving capacity charges were faulty. These companies made money from these malfunctioning machines."
Presenting a list of the top five companies that received capacity charges, he said Summit Group received Tk 10,630 crore, Agro International Tk 7,932 crore, Ultra Power Holdings Tk 7,523 crore, United Group Tk 6,575 crore, and RPCPL Tk 5,117 crore.
Under the guise of importing electricity from India, Tuku said a total of Tk 11,115 crore has been paid in capacity charges over the last 9 years. He alleged that a huge amount of money has also been plundered in the name of quick rental power plants over the last 15 years.
Tuku claimed that the developments in the electricity sector during the Awami League government are unsustainable and may collapse at any moment. He also alleged that Sheikh Hasina and her family plundered $500 million from the Russia-backed Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant Project.
Besides, he said an Awami Syndicate had looted large sums of money and siphoned it abroad through the smart meter project. Tuku accused a company owned by former state minister for power Nasrul Hamid Bipu, along with a syndicate, of embezzling crores of taka in the name of LNG projects.
In order to prevent corruption and irregularities in the power sector, he stressed the need for increasing public participation in the project implementation process to ensure transparency and accountability.
He also called for enacting strict laws to prevent corruption and taking action against those involved in corruption in the power sector. Addressing the press conference, Mirza Fakhrul Islam said, "It seems to us that the most corruption in the power and energy sector occurred during the 16 years of Awami League rule."
In response to a question, he said if their party returns to power, they will thoroughly review the corruption and irregularities in the power sector and take appropriate actions accordingly.
Messenger/JRTarek
