The Bangladesh Railway (BR) has taken an initiative to purchase 55 vehicles including 15 SUV luxury cars under one of its proposed development projects spending Tk 638 million public fund, officials said Saturday.
The state-owned BR recently sought approval of the Akhaura-Laksham duel-gauge double line construction project at a cost of Tk 68.30 billion.
With credit support of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the BR has undertaken the project to upgrade the existing Akhaura-Laksham railway line on the Dhaka-Chittagong railway track into duel-gauge double line one for carrying passengers and freight smoothly.
Railway Ministry officials said the BR has proposed to purchase 55 vehicles including 15 luxury SUV cars, 30 double-cabin pick-ups and 10 microbuses in a bid to facilitate execution of the project works.
"This initiative of the BR looks as if it is living in a paradise. It will be the record highest spending by the BR to buy vehicles under one project," said a government official, who wanted to remain unnamed.
He said it seems that there is no check and balance within the government in spending pubic funds in Bangladesh.
According to the project proposal, the BR will buy the 15 luxury cars, each costing Tk 18.2 million.
Besides, the Railway will also purchase 30 double-cabin pick-ups, each costing Tk 10.5 million and 10 microbuses each costing Tk 5.0 million.
When asked, a BR official said: "We have shortage of cars and vehicles in our fleet. These cars will boost the Railway's capacity, facilitating project implementation and other works."
He said although they had proposed to purchase 55 vehicles under the development project proposal (DPP) for facilitating the project works, the Planning Commission (PC) has cut the number.
When asked, a senior PC official said the BR's proposal for buying 55 cars is a very ambitious one under a single project.
He said: "The Project Evaluation Committee (PEC) in its evaluation meeting has recommended cutting the number of the vehicles to a rational level. The committee has seen it as a misuse of public funds for such a huge purchase."
A senior PC official said, in recent years it has become a 'culture' of the government agencies to buy huge number of vehicles under almost all of their development projects.
BR Director General Md Tafazzal Hossain could not be contacted as he was not receiving cell phone calls despite several attempts by this reporter.
Transparency International, Bangladesh (TIB) Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman said the public funds should be utilised properly.
"It is really questionable as to whether such a huge number of luxury cars for a single project are needed. If the project needs, only some vehicles, which are very much related to its works, can be purchased," he told the FE.
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