The Center for Policy Dialogue has asked the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation to publish its in-detailed income statement to the public.
In the last seven years, at least Tk 34,000 crore has not been accounted for by the agency for selling fuel, said the think tank.
CPD made the observation during a discussion titled "Record Fuel Price Hike in Bangladesh: Could It Be Avoided" in Dhaka on Wednesday.
“The agency claimed that the amount was spent on various development projects, but the reality does not match with their claim,” it said.
CPD also says, “The government’s move to increase fuel prices by over 50 per cent could have been avoided.”
Claiming that Bangladesh is currently facing the worst condition in its economic history, energy expert Professor Ijaz Hossain told the discussion that the government has increased fuel prices at a time when the country is facing high inflation and the record hike will have an impact on every level of the economy.
“The government is using fuel oil as a major source of revenue and the economic crisis of the agency could have been avoided by reducing BPC's tax and VAT,” he said.
The civil society think-tank has urged the government to reconsider and revise the prices of diesel, petrol and octane. It also made some recommendations to mitigate the ongoing crisis.
CPD Executive Direct Fahmida Khatun presided over the program while Anwar Farooq, former Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) Vice President Fazle Shamim Ehsan and Jatri Kallyan Samity President Mozammel Haque Chowdhury, among others, were present.
