The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

Food Ministry can import food-grains on an emergency basis without amending the present Public Procurement Regulations (PPR) 2008 to tackle the upswing of food prices in the country.

The Economic Affairs Committee of the caretaker government in a meeting with Finance Adviser Dr Mirza Azizul Islam in the chair yesterday gave the opinion as the Food Ministry sought amendment to clause 83 (1) of the PPR for urgent import of grains as the holy Ramadan knocks at the door.

Sources said that the Food Ministry requested the Economic Affairs Committee to reduce the time to 15 days from 42 days for tendering the import of food-grains while from 28 days to 10 for re-tender.

But the high-powered Economic Affairs Committee gave it a clean chit saying that under the clause 85 of the PPR 2008 the Food Ministry could import food to meet emergencies without needing to through the dilatory tendering process.

The committee also decided to rethink the resumption of operation of Chittagong Chemical Mills Ltd, North Bengal Paper Mills Ltd and Khulna Newsprint Paper Mills after getting back the three laid-off vital industrial units from the Privatization Commission.

Earlier, the government has handed over these three mills to the Privatization Commission to privatize them, throwing the paper mills into limbo and rendering the country dependent on costly paper imports.

The meeting agreed to give 75 percent costing of repairing bailey bridges to the Chittagong Dry Dock Ltd.

The dry-dock company requested the government to pay the advance bill as it was suffering for liquidity crisis.