We suffer for the greed of some
Everyday some sort of disturbing news awaits us. January 9, 2013 was no exception. We learned that a powerful lawyer and parliamentarian was lobbying for the Chinese company Harbin, which has returned as a selected bidder for the Barapukuria 250 MW power plant. It is the same company that had triggered a lot of controversy during the tenure of the last BNP government by setting up a low quality power plant in Tongi. The MP has allegedly secured several other power projects by influencing the bidding process.
Another powerful parliamentarian is backing China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation (CMC). When its bid was rejected due to its flaws, a powerful ruling party leader put pressure on the power board forcing it to seek clarifications twice. Though Shanghai Electric's bidding price was the lowest, CMC's price was shown less than that.
For windfall gains, these ruling party MPs are not hesitating to award contracts to set up power plants which are bound to be of low quality. How could they stoop so low? They are elected by the people to look after people's welfare, but they are busy in fulfilling their selfish desires.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments