Power plant deals under review Committee demands full disclosure
Staff Reporter :
The Contract Review Committee, formed by the interim government, has sought information on all power plant contracts, especially those signed during the Awami League government under the special powers act without following the tender process.
Various questions and allegations of irregularities have been raised regarding these contracts.
The committee is currently scrutinising these documents. In a meeting held on October 12, it was decided to collect information
on all power plants contracted over the past decade and a half.
Two members of the committee informed the media that the next meeting might be held after two weeks.
Before that, all relevant documents and papers are to be submitted. This will also include power plants contracted through the tender process.
In its second meeting on September 28th, the National Review Committee had decided to collect information on 11 power plants, including those of Summit, United, and Adani.
The power division provided the committee with these data and documents as per their instructions. After reviewing these, the committee members formed an opinion and subsequently requested information on all power plants.
The previous Awami League government had enacted the “Electricity and Fuel Supply Enhancement (Special Provision) Act, 2010 (amended in 2021)” to bypass the tender process for contracts.
Since no legal action could be taken against decisions made under this act, it was commonly known as the “immunity law”.
However, contracts for several power plants were also signed outside the purview of this act.
When contacted, Energy expert Professor Dr. Shamsul Alam told The New Nation on Wednesday, “There were huge corruption took place in energy sector during the deposed Awami League government.
The Contract Review Committee, formed by the interim government, to investigate irregularities on all power plant contracts signed during the fallen AL government created hope that all of those corruption will be brought out into light.”
The people will get informed that how amount of financial irregularities taken place in the power sector through this fraudulence.
The way of good governance should also be ensured in this sector through these initiatives, the expert added.
On September 5th, the Ministry of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources issued a notification forming a five-member committee to review contracts in the power and energy sector.
Retired High Court Judge Moinul Islam Chowdhury was appointed as the convener of this committee.
Other members include Professor Abdul Hasib Chowdhury of the Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department at BUET, Ali Ashraf, former CEO of KPMG Bangladesh, Dr. Zahid Hossain, former Chief Economist of the World Bank Bangladesh, and Professor Mostak Hossain Khan, an economist from the Faculty of Law and Social Sciences at the University of London.