JS body to look into Karnaphuli Gas financial anomalies

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Power, Energy and Mineral Resources is going to inquire about reported Tk2,834 crore financial anomalies by Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company Limited.

Following a report by The Business Standard titled "Tk18 lakh bonus for Karnaphuli Gas staff with money not its own" published on 22 January, the committee decided to scrutinise Karnaphuli Gas' financial record, said sources who attended the parliamentary watchdog meeting on Sunday. 

Wasika Ayesha Khan, chairman of the committee, also confirmed to The Business Standard that they are going to look into the matter. 

According to the TBS report, Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company awarded Tk18 lakh each in bonuses to its staff members for FY22, though the money was supposed to go to the Petrobangla.

Since 2010, Karnaphuli Gas Company has not paid Petrobangla a staggering Tk2,834 crore, additional money earned from gas sales to Karnaphuli Fertilizer Company Limited as of June 2022, reads the report. 

Wishing anonymity, one of the members who joined the meeting said the committee was told Karnaphuli-like anomalies were frequent in other energy companies too.   

"We concluded that those must be stopped immediately," the JS body member told TBS.

When asked about the pricing mechanism, sources said the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission chairman told the committee that they have developed a power pricing system in line with international standards.

The committee then asked the chairman as to why it takes 90-working days for tariff announcements. In reply, the regulatory commission chairman told the meeting that if the respondents provide the required data on time, they can make the announcement time shorter. 

Among others, committee members Nasrul Hamid, also state minister of the ministry, Md Nurul Islam Talukder, Md Nuruzzaman Biswas, Khaleda Khanam and Nargis Rahman joined the meeting held at Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban.