Responding to the demand of Communications Minister Nazmul Huda, the parliamentary standing committee on his ministry formed a sub-committee on October 2 to probe the allegation in a month.

But the one-month deadline expires today with no headway made in the investigation.

The sub-committee headed by ruling BNP lawmaker Syed Manjur Hossain, also chairman of the parliamentary standing committee, could not even start functioning, as Huda did not provide it with required documents.

"How can we start probing the basis of the TIB report if the communications minister does not provide us with the necessary documents," Manjur told The Daily Star.

The committee chairman said they will remind the minister and ask him again for the documents he has against the TIB report.

However, a committee member speaking anonymously said Huda's reluctance to cooperate with the probing shows the minister does not have any documents against TIB report.

The Bangladesh chapter of Transparency International in a corruption database released on September 15 revealed that the country has incurred a loss of about Tk 415 crore last year due to corruption.

The communications sector came out as the most corrupt sector in the TIB report, which was based on the reports published in 25 national and regional dailies.

Huda on September 2 at a meeting of the parliamentary body blasted the report and sought intervention of a parliamentary body in taking legal action against the TIB for smearing the government.

Talking to The Daily Star, convenor of the sub-committee Manjur Hossain said the committee would discuss the matter at its next meeting. "If the minister does not provide the required documents, we will not probe it."

PROBE INTO CNG GRAFT
The parliamentary body on September 2 also extended the deadline to submit a report of the stalled probe into the corruption allegations against the minister and state minister for communications.

The two sub-committees formed to probe the allegations of corruption in the import of CNG-run auto-rickshaws and allocation of land to set up CNG filling stations have yet to produce a report.

The parliamentary body on January 7 last year formed a sub-committee headed by Nadeem Mostafa to probe the allegation against Huda of allowing only one company to import CNG-run three-wheelers.

It formed another sub-committee headed by BNP lawmaker Mahmudul Haque Rubel on February 14 last year to probe the allegation against State Minister for Communications Salah Uddin Ahmed regarding allocation of land to set up CNG filling stations.

Both of the sub-committees had been asked to submit reports in a month. But despite having been granted several time extensions, they failed to come up with a report.

Syed Manjur Hossain said he would dissolve the sub-committees at the next meeting.