The High Court on Tuesday asked the government to constitute a high-powered body comprising internationally acclaimed energy and legal experts for preparing a detailed report based on analysis of all the terms and conditions of the deals signed with the Adani Group of India.
The energy secretary has been asked to constitute the body within one month of the order and the high-powered body to submit its report within two months of its formation.
The High Court bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Debasish Roy Chowdhury passed the order after holding a primary hearing on a writ petition filed challenging the legality of the power deals.
The High Court also directed the government to submit before it within one month all the proceedings, relevant documents and information related to the bargaining, if any took place, with the Adani Group before execution of this agreement.
The Chairman of Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) has been asked to submit the documents and information within 30 days of accepting the court order.
Besides, the court asked the concerned authorities to form a committee to enquire whether due process was followed in execution of this agreement and to submit a report within three months.
Earlier on November 13 last, Supreme Court lawyer Md Abdul Qaium filed the writ petition as a public interest litigation.
He challenged the legality of the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) signed on November 5, 2017, between the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) and Adani (Jharkhand) Limited of India. The petition on Tuesday came into the cause-list of the court for hearing.
Upon hearing the petition, the HC bench also issued a rule asking the respondents to explain as to why a direction shall not be given upon them for terminating the said agreement if Adani Group does not agree to the fair equal terms that upholds national interest of Bangladesh.
The High Court fixed February 25 next year for further proceedings of the case.
Mr Qaium himself appeared in the court hearing supporting his petition, while Deputy Attorney General Tanim Khan represented the state.
According to official data, Bangladesh bought Adani's power at Tk14.02 per kilowatt-hour (one unit) in 2023. Bangladesh has been buying 1,600 MW power from Adani's plant since 2023 under the deal.
Adani alone supplies around one-tenth of Bangladesh's total power demand. And its impact can be seen in the average power generation cost in the country. Whereas average generation cost was Tk5.91 per unit five years back and Tk8.84 in 2021-22, it has become Tk11.03 per unit now.
In a briefing, the lawyer told the reporters that the agreement was imposed on our nation in a fraudulent way, and now 180 million people are compensating for its damage.
According to the writ petition, with the help of corrupt officials on behalf of Bangladesh, investor Adani maximised its gains and got the deal signed absolutely in their favour.
"The agreement with Adani Group was executed in violation of Procurement Act, 2006. Section 13 of the Procurement Act, 2006 clearly required that all procuring entities i.e. state organs, shall ensure all the procurement are conducted ensuring transparency and in a competitive manner."
However, BPDB while executing the said Power Purchase Agreement did not follow the said principles of Procurement Act, according to the petition.
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