Coal Scam: PM's adviser warns of stern steps

The prime minister's Energy Advisor Tawfique-e-Elahi Chowdhury yesterday said stern action would be taken against those involved in coal misappropriation in the Barapukuria Coal Mining Company Ltd (BCMCL).

"[The] prime minister has taken a firm stance on this issue,” he told deputy commissioners, (DCs) while discussing various issues relating to power and energy at the annual DC conference at the Secretariat.

He added that the PM has asked for stern action to be taken against all those who took part in the scam.

"No one will be spared," he told journalists, after coming out of the three-day annual conference that began yesterday.

Tawfique said there would be load-shedding in the northern region for a temporary period since the Barapukuria coal-fired power plant in Dinajpur was shut down due to a fuel crisis.

The crisis surfaced after the mysterious disappearance of 1.42 lakh tonnes of coal, worth about Tk 227 crore, from the BCMCL yard.

Meanwhile, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) yesterday issued restrictions against leaving the country on the Managing Director of BCMCL Habib Uddin Ahmed and three other high-ups.

The three are: Abul Kashem Prodhania, general manager and the company secretary, Abu Taher Md Nuruzzaman Chowdhury, general manager (mine operation) and Khaledul Islam, deputy managing director (store).

A letter signed by ACC's Deputy Director Shamsul Alam was sent to the emigration police, asking them to take necessary measures in this regard, confirmed ACC's Public Relations Officer Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya.

Their names came up after the coal scam surfaced in the media.

Earlier, an ACC team visited the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) and Petro Bangla, the parent organisation of the BCMCL, to collect information about the scam.

Petro Bangla has already withdrawn Habib and Abul Kashem while Abu Taher and Khaledul have been suspended.

PROBE BODY VISIT

Yesterday, a three-member team of Petrobangla visited BCMCL in Parbatipur upazila of Dinajpur to probe into the coal scam.

Headed by Md Kamruzzaman, director (mine operation) of Petrobangla, the team talked with mine officials, checked necessary papers and visited the coal yard.

They also met with the officials of power plants of BPDB.

The probe body is supposed to submit their report within seven working days.

Earlier on Monday, a 5-member ACC team of Dinajpur visited BCMCL, after getting directives from its Dhaka office.

They spent around two hours there and found that there was a shortage of around 1.45 lakh tonnes of coal at the yard.

According to the plant's records, around 1.48 lakh tonnes coal should have been there at the yard.

But the ACC team, Petrobangla officials and visiting members of BPDB, found only around 3,000 tonnes of coal.

According to BCMCL officials, the company produced around 1.0166 crore tonnes of coal from 2005 till June 29 of this year.

Of those, 66.87 lakh tonnes coal was supplied to BPDB and 33.19 lakh tonnes coal was sold to different companies and brickfield operators.

Power generation of Barapukuria 525MW power plant was suspended for an indefinite period on Sunday night for the coal crisis, said Md Adul Hakim Sarkar, chief engineer of the power plant.