Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Monday delivered one of his sharpest public attacks yet on reported corruption and inflated spending during the Awami League era, accusing former authorities of burdening the country with massive debt through over-expensive mega projects, particularly the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant.
Speaking at a meeting with senior police officials at the Prime Minister’s Office on the second day of Police Week, the prime minister referred to findings from audit reports submitted by Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Md Nurul Islam earlier this month.
Drawing comparisons with a similar nuclear power project in neighbouring India, Tarique questioned why Rooppur project cost had ballooned so dramatically.
“A similar project to the Rooppur project has been done by a country neighbouring us. They probably spent around Tk14,000 crore on it. The cost of the Rooppur project in Bangladesh is ultimately likely to be Tk96,000 crore,” he said.
Alleging that the reactor project had been executed at “four times the cost”, the prime minister said the burden of repayment had effectively fallen on every citizen of the country.
“The debt that has come down on the heads of every person to repay it,” he said.
Linking alleged waste and corruption to the state’s financial constraints, the premier told police officials that public services could have received far greater funding had there not been “unnecessary expenses” in mega projects.
“If there were no unnecessary expenses, then you and the Army, Air Force, Navy, education, health, we could have done better in every field,” he said.
Tarique also accused the previous AL government of excessive expenditure in two other major infrastructure projects – the Padma Bridge and the Karnaphuli Tunnel.
“The auditor general came to me a few days ago. I’m not presenting it politically, I’m presenting the reality. I’m not blaming anyone politically. I’m presenting these words because we, the citizens of this country, you, your children are growing up in this country,” he said.
Tarique expressed shock over some of the audit findings linked to Rooppur, including alleged exorbitant purchases for accommodation facilities built for foreign personnel.
Regarding Rooppur, he said that the project has been done, fully furnished quarters have been built there for foreigners. “When the pillows were purchased there, the price of the pillows was estimated at Tk80,000,” he added.
Questioning the pricing, he added, “Could a pillow ever cost Tk80,000 anywhere in the world?”
The prime minister also referred to allegations surrounding furniture procurement.
“A dressing table has been purchased. This is what the auditor general said. The dressing table that he estimated to cost a maximum of Tk30,000-35,000 has been estimated to cost Tk4-5 lakh,” he said.
Turning to the Padma Bridge project, Tarique compared it with India’s Bhupen Hazarika Bridge, which was built at a cost of Tk14-15 thousand crore, he said, “And the Padma Bridge cost Tk54 or 56 thousand crore.”
On the Karnaphuli Tunnel project, the prime minister alleged unnecessary luxury spending and irregularities in plantation works.
“I have not seen this tunnel. I think some very standard and luxurious sort of apartments or buildings have been built on the other side of the tunnel, which were not needed,” he said.
Referring to the audit findings, he added that funds allocated for roadside plantation around the tunnel could not be accounted for.
“There is a provision to plant trees on both sides of the tunnel before its entry or exit points. He (auditor general) did not find any trees. But they took away Tk50 crore for these trees,” the prime minister alleged.
Tarique also claimed that lawmakers from Pirojpur informed him that Tk35,000 crore had gone missing from the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) ministry alone.
“They just showed papers and took the money and left, no work was done,” he said.
“Tk6,000 crore also gone from a district, including several other departments,” the prime minister added.
However, according to official figures, the Padma Bridge project cost Tk30,770 crore and the Rooppur project cost Tk1,37,000 crore.
