Rooppur power plant: Steps after probe report, says ACC chief

Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Chairman Iqbal Mahmood today said that the commission is keeping a close watch on the issue of alleged corruption in purchasing furniture and other household items for Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant official.

“We will take necessary measures based on the investigation report of the ministry concerned,” the anti-graft body chief said while talking to reporters at the commission’s Segunbagicha office in Dhaka this afternoon.

According to reports in the media as well as on social media, the purchase prices of various items to furnish the project’s 966 apartments for the Russian engineers and others were abnormally higher than the market prices.

The reports claimed that each pillow was bought for Tk 5,957, and the cost of carrying it to an apartment was Tk 760. An electric stove cost Tk 7,747 and the carrying cost from the ground floor to the top one cost Tk 6,650.

The reports also said that the price of an electric iron was Tk 4,154 and the carrying cost Tk 2,945.

Media reports also said that the salary of the project director was Tk 4.96 lakh. Besides, he will be the executive director of the project, so he can receive an additional Tk two lakh. In addition, the salary of each driver was around 73,000, cooks would get Tk 63,000.

The total cost for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant stands at around Tk 1,13,025 crore.

“We are waiting for the report. As the ministries are working with the issue, we will seek the report and if we see there is an ingredient, we will definitely take the legal step,” the ACC chief said.

Responding to a query, he said the ACC follows some rules and procedures and thus it cannot jump in anything soon after getting any reports of corruption.

“We have already talked and two ministries are working with the issue. We will wait until we get the investigation report. We will take step after getting the report,” he said.

Responding to a query he said, “We have some national important projects. We will have to think before jumping in any such project abruptly.”