Energy expert, former caretaker adviser Professor M. Tamim said on Saturday that unless the so-called "mafia system" in the energy and power sectors is dismantled and the government does not bring the criminals under trial for their wrongdoing, the systemic corruption will be continued.
"Corruption in the energy and power sectors was a result of collusion among politicians, bureaucrats, and business entities, unfortunately, the current government has failed to bring transparency here; they are choosing the same path," M Tamim remarked while speaking at a shadow parliament debate programme as the chief guest at FDC.
"Bureaucrats Are More Responsible Than Politicians for Corruption in the Energy and Power Sectors" was the hypothesis of the debate, Debate for Democracy, Chairman Hasan Ahmed Chowdhury Kiran presided over the event.
Prof Tamim alleged that during the ousted Awami League government's tenure, no power plants had been established without
political and financial trade-offs, there was a nexus comprising the bureaucrats---politician-businessman, this nexus did what they wanted in this sector only for their betterment.
Daffodil International University emerged victorious over American International University-Bangladesh in the debate competition.
Tamim criticized the previous government's reliance on LNG imports due to commission incentives rather than pursuing domestic gas exploration and extraction. "We witnessed all these heinous things, as it was centralised to the then prime minister, everything was facilitated from the Prime Minister's Office.
"If we really want to end the corruption we need to decentralising the work system here, BPDB is the initiator-scrutinizer-implementing authority or the buyer of power from the IPPS or rental and quick rentals….we need to form a separate entity which would oversee the whole thing," Dr. Tamim said.
Prof Tamim further criticised corruption done by S Alam and Summit groups, calling for forensic scrutiny as they did everything through a "system."
Mentioning the corruption of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), he claimed that the government was involved in maintaining this to make revenue, setting higher prices while showing losses.
Mentioning the Adani project, the energy expert said it was finalised within three days without adequate discussions.
"The deal includes paying 100 per cent capacity charges while also paying for an additional 40 per cent unused power."
He called for a review of the agreement, deeming it "unfair". "The AL government avoided public hearings and instead, used the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission [BERC] to set energy and fuel prices," he said.
Taking part in the discussion, Hasan Ahmed Chowdhury Kiran said to ensure corruption in power and energy sector, the 2010 indemnity law was passed by the Awami League government.
Criticizing the Adani Power deal, he said it was entirely one-sided and detrimental to Bangladesh's interests.
He highlighted significant discrepancies in power plant projects, including the absence of distribution and transmission lines to support electricity generation. Despite massive expenditures, load-shedding persisted. He also criticised the past government's misleading claims of achieving 100 per cent electrification, calling it a "false narrative."
Citing the hassle of the consumers, Kiron alleged widespread corruption in pre-paid electricity meters and industrial gas supplies, as these are never showing the accurate data.
