Tk 396cr gobbled up thru’ gas connections

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Officials and contractors of the Bakhrabad Gas Systems Limited (BGSL) pocketed about Tk 396 crore in bribe for providing gas connections since its start in 1980 till December 2007, a Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) report yesterday said.

It said systems loss gobbled up about 5648.16 million cubic feet (mmcf) of gas worth Tk 1,646 crore during the same period.

The report on “Corruption in Distribution and Marketing of Natural Gas in Chittagong Region: A Special Study on Bakhrabad Gas Systems Limited” was based on information from 603 BGSL clients who took out connections from December 2006 to August 2008.

Besides, present and former BGSL staff, journalists and energy experts were interviewed for the report made public at a roundtable in Chittagong.

TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman moderated the discussion.

Criticising the government’s ‘hasty’ decision to stop new connections in Chittagong, Prof Anu Muhammad of Jahangirnagar University said there is no reason for the country to face gas crisis at least before 2012.

A gas crisis has been created so new contracts could be signed in the interest of foreign energy companies, he alleged.

Presenting the report, Md Golam Mostafa, programme officer for TIB, said Tk 25.28 crore was exchanged in bribe in 2006-07 alone. He said 56 percent of the BGSL clients reported they had to bribe officials for new connections.

The report said the company’s 1990 deal with Karnaphuli Fertiliser Company Limited (Kafco) was uneven, making the BGCL to supply 60 mmcf of gas to Kafco daily at half the price of other industrial clients.

It said stopping irregularities in providing new connections, keeping an eye on illegal connections and regular monitoring to bring down systems loss would help the company become more effective.

TIB affiliate Shachetan Nagarik Committee (Sanak) helped prepare the report.

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