Some 0.3 million illicit connections along some 250-kilometre pipelines under a state-owned company are gobbling up a huge amount of gas, affecting mainstream industrial production and household usage, officials and industry leaders said.
Most of the illegal gas-distribution channels are in Dhaka, Narayanganj, Munshiganj, Narsingdi and Gazipur districts, according to officials concerned, who blamed power-wielding rackets for the pilferage.
Such leakage stands as one of key obstacles to maintaining normal supply chain of gas to legal customers, including industries and households.
The energy underworld is consuming more than 200 million cubic feet (mmcf) of gas per day (one-cubic-foot-gas price Tk 5.86). As a result, the government is also losing huge amount of taka a day.
A number of influential quarters of politicos from top political parties and a section of corrupt officials of Titas Gas are allegedly involved in illegal gas distribution in different areas, including in and around Dhaka.
Titas top boss also acknowledged the issue of gas theft in many areas and said his agency will crackdown on illegal users.
Nowshad Islam, Managing Director of Titas said: "It's true many illegal gas lines have been installed in several locations and politicians and some corrupt officials are directly involved in this."
"We're going to launch drive against illegal connections and give punishment to dishonest Titas officials," he said.
Through illegal gas connection the rackets make billions of taka, as each illegal gas connection to industry fetches them more than Tk 20 million and to each household Tk 35,000-45,000.
In recent times, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) found out that the Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited had provided gas connections to more than 500 industries (which are bulk gas users) in the last four years in violation of the rules.
An ACC inquiry committee has found allegations of Titas Gas officials having pocketed more than Tk 20 million from each illegal gas connection per manufacturing industry.
"A Petrobangla probe committee has identified more than 250km illegal gas pipelines in Dhaka, Narayanganj, Munshiganj, Narsingdi and Gazipur with more than 300,000 illegal connections to households and industries," a former chairman of Petrobangla (Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation) told the FE.
He said the illegal gas connections have been consuming more than 200 million cubic feet of gas a day. As a result, genuine consumers are facing shortage while the manufacturers could not utilise their full capacity.
The former boss of the state-run petroleum corporation also said due to illegal gas connections the government exchequer is being deprived of billions of taka every month as the gas charge stays out of count.
According to the Petrobangla, the country produces around 2482 million cubic feet (CF) of gas per day against the demand for around 3,000 million cubic feet, leaving a daily shortfall of around 500mmcf.
A high official of the ACC said the anti-graft agency also found that some top officials of Titas were involved in the graft as they have given gas connections to a large number of industries without following any rules.
He said a large number of small and medium-sized mills, factories and households in and around Dhaka and Narayanganj, Munshiganj, Narsingdi and Gazipur are using illegal gas lines as the "corrupt officials of Titas are abetting".
"The linemen, billing readers and supervisors also have connivance with the corrupt high officials of the Titas as they visit the illegal gas users at the beginning of each month to collect huge amounts of money, which is not going to government exchequer," said the ACC official.
Jahangir Alamin, president of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), said manufacturing units are suffering from gas shortage or low pressure of gas, with production volume going down in rcent times.
"Many of manufacturing industries could not go for production as, for the past four years, gas suppliers have stopped new connections and also the existing industries are not getting required gas due to low pressure," he said.
"It demands an urgent remedy," said the leader of the association of textiles industries.
As a result of the fuel crunch, nearly 35 per cent of the production capacity of manufacturing units remained idle for years.
According to Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Ltd, in the last four years more than 1000 applications have pending. Most of them are bulk-gas users as, since 2009, new gas connection has remained suspended in major industrial belts due to government's decision.
Faruq Hasan, former vice-president of Bangladesh Garment Manufactures and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said: "The manufacturing industry, including big and small units, are in a very bad condition due to the gas crisis."
Mr Hasan, also Managing Director of Giant Group, a leading textiles and readymade garment manufacturer, said gas crisis takes toll on manufacturing industry as a large number of existing industries in different sectors could not utilise hundred per cent of their capacity.
"Some of small industries are running with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) but it is very expensive," he said.
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