Staff Reporter :
Serious allegations have surfaced regarding financial and procedural irregularities in the Electronic Digital Connectivity (EDC) project, an initiative under the ICT Division aimed at expanding internet access to educational institutions and remote areas across Bangladesh.
Concerns have been raised over significant modifications made between the issuance of the project’s initial tender in August 2022 and the subsequent release of the Request for Proposal (RFP) this year.
Industry insiders claim these changes raise questions about transparency and potential preferential treatment, with the revised terms potentially costing the government an estimated Tk 150 crore annually.
One of the most contentious alterations involves the withdrawal of the project’s original commitment to provide free internet access for the first year.
The revised RFP now includes a monthly fee of Tk 1,200 per institution – despite this condition being absent in the initial tender documents. With over 109,000 institutions expected to be covered under the scheme, the annual cost burden could exceed Tk 157 crore.
Technical specifications for the Wi-Fi routers have also expanded significantly – from 7 criteria in the original tender to 44 in the final version – leading to speculation that the revisions may have been designed to favour a particular vendor.
Additionally, the approval process has been simplified to require only user certification, eliminating the previously mandated dual sign-off by project authorities.
Several bidders allege that these substantial changes were made without their knowledge or consultation, and that none of the officials who originally approved the tender endorsed the updated RFP.
Some have gone further, claiming that backdoor negotiations may have occurred to benefit certain companies, facilitated by officials involved in the project’s implementation.
Repeated complaints lodged with the ICT Directorate have reportedly gone unanswered.
Dr Iftekharuzzaman, Executive Director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), commented: “Altering procurement conditions without a clear and justified rationale – especially when this leads to inflated public expenditure – undermines principles of good governance and warrants immediate investigation.”
However, project authorities have rejected the accusations. “These claims are baseless and appear to be a deliberate attempt to mislead the public and tarnish the government’s image,” said Pranab Kumar Saha, Joint Secretary and Project Director of EDC. “We are looking into who is spreading this misinformation and will take appropriate action.”
Additional concerns have been raised over the involvement of individuals reportedly affiliated with the ruling party, some of whom have been appointed to technical roles within the project. One such individual – a mid-ranking programmer now acting as the Additional Project Director – is believed to have played a significant role in the changes.
As public scrutiny mounts, experts and civil society groups are calling for an independent investigation to ensure accountability and safeguard public funds in national ICT projects designed to bridge the digital divide.
