Graft eats into RHD

Between 2000 and 2006, all road maintenance jobs of Roads and Highways Department (RHD) were awarded to contractors at a higher cost than the projected cost causing losses of around Tk 154 crore to the state.
In these six years, periodic maintenance jobs were always done at a higher price than projected through collaboration between RHD officials and contractors, an Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) investigation revealed.
Of the amount, the government incurred Tk 149 crore loss as the jobs were done at higher costs than projected while irregularities in implementing the projects cost the state another Tk 4.71 crore.
Interestingly enough, a total of 32 RHD maintenance jobs were awarded after the state of emergency was promulgated and during the anti-corruption campaign and all these jobs were done at lower cost than projected. This saved the state Tk 63 crore.
An ACC probe, carried out as part of measures against institutional corruption, found out that RHD staffs concerned and contractors in mutual collaboration had the maintenance jobs approved at a higher cost than projected through "negotiations".
ACC Director General (admin) Col Hanif Iqbal during a routine press briefing yesterday at the ACC headquarters informed the press about their findings.
The ACC probe found that all 261 packages, launched as part of Periodic Maintenance Programme (PMP) financed by JVIC and DFID in the six years, were awarded without floating open tenders.
Quoting audit reports, prepared by Ernst & Young, an audit firm employed by DFID, the ACC probe mentioned a number of irregularities in implementing the projects. Irregularities include paying the contractors even though no maintenance work was done, paying additional bills to contractors, paying additional bills against substandard maintenance work, and carrying out unnecessary maintenance work.
PMP IN BRIEF
Out of 261 packages, eight were done in 2000 at 8.07 percent higher cost than projected while 14, 16, 79, 15, and 129 projects were completed in 2001, 2002, 2003-2004, 2004-2005, and 2005-2006 at 8.27, 9.36, 10.93, 12.64 and 16.00 percent higher cost than projected, the ACC probe found.
The ACC investigators also found that instead of floating open tender for the maintenance jobs, the RHD invited bids from 219 institutions listed with the department through letters. The investigation also revealed that the same contractor in collusion with RHD officials submitted supplementary bids in different packages to get the job at a higher cost.
During 2006-2007, in contrast with earlier projects, 15 of the 32 maintenance works carried out, after the state of emergency was promulgated, were completed at 15.64 percent lower cost than projected while the rest were completed during 2007-2008 at 18.27 percent lower cost.
According to Ernst & Young, Tk 6.33 lakh was misappropriated in 2005-2006 in a maintenance job in Bagerhat where money was paid without any work actually being done.
The audit report also mentioned misappropriation of Tk 15.44 lakh, Tk 35.22 lakh, Tk 6.24 lakh, Tk 12.88 lakh, Tk 44.97 lakh, Tk 4.21 lakh, Tk 112.17 lakh, Tk 61.28 lakh, Tk 20.65 lakh, Tk 61.44 lakh and Tk 90.24 lakh in road maintenance jobs in Madaripur, Natore, Bogra, Habiganj, Khagrachhari, Chittagong, and Gazipur between 2000 and 2006 through various irregularities.