Ashuganj-Manohardi Gas Pipeline
'Drive against illegal land occupants saves Tk 23 cr'
Staff Correspondent
Chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on energy Sardar Shakhawat Hossain Bokul yesterday said his drive against illegal occupants of the land in the pathway of the Ashuganj-Manohardi gas pipeline has saved the national exchequer nearly Tk 23 crore.While talking to The Daily Star, Bokul, also a ruling party lawmaker, said he is playing a crucial role against any illegal practice in pipeline installation in Manohardi area, from where he was elected. "The land part of the pipeline in my area is complete," he said, but expressed his concerns at the delay in the implementation of this vital pipeline project due to a Chinese contractor's failure to install the pipeline in the Meghna river. The Daily Star on Thursday reported that the project might be delayed by a year because of the Chinese contractor's failure. The project was supposed to be completed in 2004but it was delayed due to various reasons, it added. One of the reasons included an accusation that Bokul was hindering the progress of the pipeline project over land acquisition for his personal gains. "This is absurd because it was I who pointed out at a parliamentary standing committee meeting that there was a serious corruption in the way the authorities were paying for the land for the project," he said. Bokul said at a standing committee meeting in September-October last year it came to his notice that the project's implementation authority Gas Transmission Company Limited was set to pay Tk 30 crore for land. "This is an astonishing figure. So I demanded a video investigation into it," he said. The video recorded at the project's pathway revealed that a huge number of people have erected illegal structures just to make extra cash. "A section of officials were involved in the corruption. But upon seeing the video I identified the people who had erected these illegal structures. It was followed by a massive eviction drive," he said. "This way, the Tk 30 crore payment for land acquisition came down to Tk 7.21 crore," he said, adding, "ever since I kept a tight watch on the matter and now there is no illegal practice in the Manohardi area." "Despite my best efforts, the failure of the Chinese contractor in laying the pipeline in Meghna river may now delay the whole project," he added. Once this project is complete, gas supply will increase by 100 to 150 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) and greatly improve gas transmission pressure.
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