The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Chittagong

Officials and employees of Bakhrabad Gas System Ltd (BGSL) have taken Tk 396 crore in bribe since its inception from its customers only for providing gas connections.

According to a report released by Transparency International, Bangladesh (TIB) here yesterday, underhand dealings involving over Tk 25.28 crore took place for giving gas connections in fiscal 2007-08 alone.

The report said corruption is also there in metre reading, raising gas pressure and bypassing gas in addition to providing illegal gas connections.

TIB also held a roundtable titled 'Corruption in natural gas supply and its marketing in Chittagong region: Role of BGSL" at a city hotel today, marking the release of the report.

Secretary of Oil-Gas Resources Protection Committee Dr Anu Mohammad and Prof. Shamsul Alam of Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET) were the key discussants of the roundtable, presided over by Sachetan Nagarik Committee convenor Begum Mushtari Shafi.

Moderated by TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman, the roundtable was addressed, among others, by BGSL Managing Director Quamrul Islam, Nagarik Committee member secretary Adv. Akhter Kabir Chowdhury and former principal of Chittagong College Dr Iftekharuddin Chowdhury.

Dr Anu Mohammad told the discussion that the government has deliberately not taken any initiative since the 1/11 changeover to bring any change in the policy on which corruption got its roots.

"As apprehended earlier, the government has made a compromise with the corrupt persons," he said.

Dr Anu Mohammad regretted that the country's gas resources have virtually gone into the hands of foreign companies because of indissoluble structure of corruption.

Prof. Shamsul Alam said although the BGSL is known as a public limited company, it is controlled by the government. "So, customers are being deprived of necessary services," he added.

He suggested that the BGSL authorities should be given decision-making power apart from strengthening its monitoring system to check the trend of providing illegal connections.

The meeting also put forward a number of recommendations for making the BGSL a profitable and service-oriented organisation. These include running the BGSL as per the Company Act'94 and enacting a Gas Act.