The finance ministry has not cleared this scheme and the current budget has no allocation of funds for it. But the home ministry has selected German company Giesecke and Devrient (G&D) GmbH for the job through a 'restricted' tender. If the G&D is awarded contract for it, the company would implement it within five years.

Sources said the government has not yet framed any law to make national ID cards mandatory for every citizen, neither has it established the National Registration Department (NRD), which is supposed to be the implementing authority of the scheme. The NRD is also supposed to issue the ID cards to the citizens.

"The reason for such a hurry in awarding contract for the scheme to G&D ahead of the next general election is to ensure that the business lobby behind the company gets its commission," said a highly placed source. One of the top young leaders of the 'alternative centre of power' of the government is pushing the project contract for it.

Sources pointed out that the home ministry plans to have the finance ministry clear the scheme upon its approval by the purchase committee.

Home ministry Additional Secretary Mohammad Mohsin told The Daily Star that this is "not a project but a programme." Asked whether the home ministry processed the project proposal through the planning or finance ministry as is typical for any other government project, he said this programme would be funded under the revenue budget.

The government initiated the project for machine readable passport a few years ago. The home ministry later tagged the national ID card issue with it although the two schemes are quite different from each other.

On April 24, 2004, the home ministry formed a 13-member committee including representatives of the BUET and headed by its additional secretary. This committee was assigned to determine how the government could introduce machine readable passport, visa and national ID card. The committee in its report recommended setting up of the NRD and restructuring of the immigration and passport department, and suggested how these should deal with the new passport, visa and ID card.

The home ministry accordingly submitted a proposal to the cabinet committee on public administration reforms and good governance on September 25, 2004. The cabinet body recommended it in principle and the prime minister approved it on October 16, 2004.

As per the PM's approval, in the first phase of the project, 15 lakh new applicants and 35 lakh old passport owners would be given machine readable passport and the project may be implemented under the revenue budget. The PM did not decide on setting up the NRD, neither did the ministry took any initiative to set it up.

Mohsin told The Daily Star, "It (NRD) was just a proposal. The government will implement it."

Sources however argued that all government projects have a clear-cut implementing authority and there is no room for vagueness about it.

Though implementing such a technology-oriented massive project demands appointment of an experienced consultant, preferably through the donors, the home ministry settled for appointing a senior information technology consultant. Two candidates were primarily selected. But they were disqualified during an interview with a committee headed by the ministry's additional secretary on May 7 last year. The committee observed that the candidates lacked technical expertise and failed to answer various technical questions.

But the ministry eventually appointed one Faiz Khan with a monthly salary of Tk 3 lakh. Under pressure from an influential minister's son, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) made his salary tax-free. Side by side, the additional secretary who opposed his appointment was removed from the ministry.

The senior IT consultant then set the criteria for potential bidders for the project in such a way that only certain companies could participate in the bid. Out of 34 companies in Europe, North America and Asia, which are involved in such projects, only four were pre-selected. These are Bundes Druckerie International Service (BDIS), Germany, Canadian Bank Note, Canada, G&D GmbH, Germany and De La Rue Identity Systems, UK. The ministry however did not verify whether any of these companies had the capability to implement such a project.

Sources pointed out that the senior IT consultant then designed such a tender document that would favour G&D GmbH only. Meanwhile, the ministry drafted an estimate for the project in September. On December 29, the four pre-qualified companies were given tender documents but the ministry then added various conditions time to time, making it difficult for the bidders to frame their bids. Except G&D, the three bidders at one point raised objections, which were ignored.

The ministry gave 111 days to the bidders to submit their proposal and it issued the last amendment to the bid three days before the bid closing. Sensing foul play, both the British and Canadian companies refrained from submitting their bids while the last minute bid amendment took German company BDIS off-guard and it failed to address the last minute change of the bid condition. The BDIS bid was shown as non-responsive and costly. On the other hand, the bid of G&D was shown responsive though it was full of flaws. The financial bid of G&D had gross anomalies, which the ministry okayed as mere "arithmetical error".

At this point, other bidders brought serious allegations against G&D. The home ministry then requested the Bangladesh embassy in Berlin to visit G&D and BDIS headquarters. The Bangladeshi commercial councillor in his report said that G&D has arrangements in Munich and Louisenthal to print the inner pages of machine readable passports with all security features. But the sewing of passport pages, embossing on the cover and binding is done at G&D Hellas premise owned by G&D in Athens. G&D manufactures and prints machine readable visas in Liepzig and machine readable ID cards in Lousenthal. But BDIS has a composite manufacturing plant for all these jobs in Berlin.

The commercial councillor added that G&D has shown inner passport pages it had manufactured for Bhutan, Latvia, Yemen, Haiti and Mongolia while BDIS showed complete passport of Germany.

Now, the home ministry is all set to award the contract to G&D. The terms and conditions for the contract do not include sub-contracting any part of the scheme. "But such a massive job will require sub-contracting. Otherwise, the contractor will fail to meet its deadline," noted one source. "Beside this programme is implemented under the Public Procurement Regulation, 2004, which demands the contractor give sub-contracts for such a project."

The source went on, "Bangladesh can save a lot of money if it goes for an open tender instead of a restricted one for such a project."

The home ministry's proposal to the cabinet purchase committee notes that the first year of the five-year programme will be considered as testing period. During this phase, the contractor will provide necessary hardware, software, local and foreign manpower and consumables to immigration and passport department. The offices to be covered by it are the head office in Dhaka, national issuance centre, six divisional headquarters and 12 district headquarters.

The home ministry adds the new passports and ID cards will increase acceptability of Bangladeshi passport internationally, which will eventually increase overseas employment, help implementation of the government's national security policy, boost direct revenue earning, resolve international pressure on Bangladesh on introduction of such passport etc.