Staff Reporter :
Huge irregularities found against Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) over unresolving audit disputes, lack of accountability and ambiguity in procurements.
The Parliamentary Committee on Public Undertakings on Tuesday in its 15th meeting in the National Parliament Building found those irregularities.
The committee expressed anger over those irregularities of the BPC.
The meeting held with its Chairman A S M Feroz in the chair, while, committee members Mostafizur Rahman, Omor Faruk Chowdhury, Md. Mahbubul Alam Hanif and Md Zillul Hakim attended, among others.
“We have shocked over the scenario of irregularities of the BPC. It has irregularities in purchasing. There are wide ranged lack of transparency and accountability there. They have some audit disputes also. They had not resolved those audit disputes. They have ignored directives of Anti Corruption Commission also,” ASM Feroz told Journalists after the meeting.
He said that there are anger in the meeting over hiking fuel prices.
“We questioned the ministry to explain the reasons of increasing fuel price. It said that they had increased the price to tackle fuel smuggling to the neighboring countries as there were high prices,” ASM Feroz said. The Parliamentary committee recommended adjusting the price of fuel in the country with the international market.
The concerned ministry is also recommended by the committee members to take necessary measures to increase the storage capacity of refined and unrefined fuel of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) and to maintain adequate funds during emergencies.
Documents of the meeting showed that the Audit reports said the BPC had not completed its annual accounts report in the year of 2012-13.
Audit department said that incompletion of annual report is anti financial disciplinary act. It said that the responsible persons should be punished as per rules in these connections.
The BPC has imported extra fuel than the storage capacity which caused loss of Tk 50 crore due to floating extra ships in 2012-13 financial years.
Besides, it (the BPC) had taken bank loan instead of its own savings which caused loss of Tk 248.90 crore in the same year.
Comptroller and Auditor General office said in that year that the internal management was being risky due to dysfunctional audit and monitoring.
