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Call to shun rental power

Star Business Report
The government should emphasise producing energy and power on its own instead of buying electricity on a rental basis, said the chief of a parliamentary body yesterday.
"At present the average price of per unit electricity is Tk 3.81, but it will cost Tk 7-Tk 8 once the government starts purchasing from the rental power projects," said Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir, chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on public accounts.
"The higher charges for per unit electricity will be a burden for the government, as it will have to increase subsidy for the sector. And providing a huge subsidy for a longer period will affect the country's economic growth," he added.
He was speaking at a budget analysis workshop for the members of parliament styled 'Overview of FYI 1 Budget and Implementation Challenges', coorganised by Policy Research Institute
of Bangladesh (PRI) and USAID at the Westin Dhaka hotel.
Alamgir suggested the government go for alternative sources of power, such as by establishing coal-based powerprojects.
"If the government doesn't get enough response from the local and foreign investors, it's time to take initiative to enhance production on its own."
He also stressed the need to better monitor power generation and distribution.
Alamgir criticised the government's decision on distributing CFL (compact fluorescent light) bulbs free of cost "Our electricity coverage is for 46 percent of our total population now, so the government should increase spending to provide electricity for the rest."
He said the government should allow black money without any question and tax to invest in the local manufacturing sector to enhance the country's economic growth.
"When the new companies will start
production, they will ultimately come under thetaxnet,"he said.
In his keynote paper, Ahsan H Mansur, executive director of PRI, called upon the government to take measures to implement the budget properly.
"Although the National Board of Revenue achieves its target of revenue earning, still a huge population have not been included in the tax net. The investment-to-GDP ratio is also undergoing a stagnant situation," he said.
The government has to take necessary measures to overcome this situation immediately, he added.
Prof Ali Ashraf, former deputy speaker and a member of the parliamentary standing committee on finance ministry, moderated the workshop, participated by a total of 20 lawmakers.
Zakir Ahmed Khan, former finance secretary, and Zaidi Sattar, chairman of PRI, also spoke.