Different ministries are now looking for the cabinet's clearance for purchases that violate the Public Procurement Regulation (PPR) 2003 when a new law on public procurement to replace the regulation is awaiting passage by parliament.

The ministries yesterday submitted seven purchase proposals at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Finance Minister M Saifur Rahman. Of these, six violate PPR provisions and need the cabinet's nod for legitimisation.

The cabinet committee approved four of these. Three of the proposals came from Bangladesh Chemical

Industries Corporation (BCIC) under the industries ministry which is already involved in the purchase of fertiliser violating the rules.

The BCIC last year purchased three lakh tonnes of urea fertiliser in three instalments --all violating the PPR's article 33, which stipulates a competitive bidding and purchase on the basis of unsolicited negotiations.

The other approved proposal came from the food ministry, which sought relaxation and exemption of PPR's clauses 33 and 41(c) to import food by payment in hard cash to face emergency.

The committee however shelved a proposal to purchase two lakh tonnes of sugar violating PPR's article 41(c). When asked by report-

ers after the meeting, Saifur Rahman explained: “We have asked the commerce ministry to float a tender first to determine the price of sugar. Then we may consider relaxing the PPR.”

The energy ministry sought a proposal to procure 60,000 tonnes of diesel bypassing clause 41(c) of the PPR. However as neither the energy adviser nor the energy secretary was present at the meeting, the committee declined to approve it.

Due to the absence of the energy ministry chief, the committee also did not discuss another proposal seeking government grant or subsidy worth Tk 6,795 crore for the

Ministries seek

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Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) to cover its losses.

Meanwhile, another meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Purchase approved the BCIC proposal for procuring one lakh tonne urea in two deals through international bids. It also approved a tender bid to set up a Tk 85-crore 500-bed hospital in Khilgaon, Dhaka.