Energy sector graft to be identified in White Paper

The White Paper Preparation Committee is expected to find out the irregularities and corruption committed in the energy and power sector during the tenure of the immediate-past government, committee chief Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya said on Tuesday.
"If necessary, we would review the agreements with foreign companies and parties in the sector," he told journalists, following the second meeting of the committee in the capital. The first meeting was held on August 29.
Dr Debapriya, also a distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said that the reasons and extent of the capital flight from Bangladesh would also be reflected in the paper.
"We have selected some areas and sectors to prepare the paper," he said. These are: macro economy, energy sector, health and education, and some institutional issues like banking sector, tax administration, capital flight, mega projects, poverty, inequality, and regional disparity will be reflected there.
"In today's meeting, we have assigned our members specific areas of coverage. The method of writing reports has also been determined," he added.
The committee members will hold discussion with different expert groups, including researchers and professors in Dhaka and outside Dhaka and even outside Bangladesh for preparing the reports, said the committee chief.
"We will collect information from different sources. Then we will verify the sources critically. We will also compare the available information with the best global practices to ensure a standard form. We will also find our better research on the areas being touched," he added.
He said the committee is expected to complete its preliminary work within the next two months before finalising the white paper.

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