As part of the government’s tough stance against illegal gas connections, Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Ltd. (TGTDCL) wants to recruit a magistrate permanently to accelerate the activities.
The issue was recently discussed in detail at a monthly coordination meeting of the Energy and Mineral Resources Division (EMRD), according to minutes of the meeting.
During the meeting, Petrobangla Chairman Nazmul Ahsan said that if a permanent magistrate could be appointed for TGTDCL, the illegal gas disconnection and pipeline removal activities would be expedited. Besides, the collection of arrears will increase further.
He made a list of legitimate consumers based in the region and proposed to hang it in the region as well as provide it to the concerned deputy commissioner.
At that time, MD. Mahbub Hossain, Senior Secretary of EMRD agreed. He directed to send a proposal to the Ministry of Public Administration for the appointment of a permanent magistrate for TGTDCL quickly.
The meeting was informed that six gas distribution companies disconnected 21,969 illegal gas connections and 56,896 gas burners in May across the country.
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Faruque Hassan urged the government to cut all illegal gas connections in the country.
He said unauthorised gas connections deprive the government of a huge amount of revenue and also pose risk of fire accidents.
Moreover, illegal connections take a huge amount of gas supply, putting pressure on the main line and ultimately causing problems for the legal users including industrial sectors, he said.
Inadequate gas supply and low pressure disrupts industrial production, causing problems for the export-oriented industries, including garment and textile sectors which have to maintain lead time in shipping goods, he added.
Titas Gas Managing Director (MD) Harunur Rashid Mollah has said despite repeated efforts, illegal gas connections were still in the system as it was not physically possible to keep surveillance on the huge network of gas lines in and outside Dhaka city.
“It’s really tough to guard the gas lines. On one side, we disconnect the illegal lines, on the other the thieves restore illegal connections and steal the gas. It’s like a cat and mouse game. However, we are trying. An all-out campaign is underway against such illegal use. All invalid connections will be disconnected,” he said.
Due to the managerial incompetence of the gas transmission and distribution company, 65 crore cubic meters of gas is being wasted (systems loss) every year. Gas is being wasted regularly due to illegal connections, overuse and leakage in the pipeline.
According to energy experts, it is possible to save a huge quantity of gas from loss by stopping theft.
Prior to the import of high-priced LNG from August 18, 2018, the Energy and Mineral Resources Division had instructed all distribution companies to declare themselves free from illegal connections. However, the distribution companies could not remove all the identified lines.
An Energy Division official said, ‘in many cases, we have seen illegal connections being disconnected and reconnected. We think that this work is not possible without the connivance of the officials and employees of the gas distribution company.’
LNG being purchased at a higher price, is now being sold at a lower price. The government has to pay a huge subsidy for this. The government has taken initiative to disconnect illegal gas lines to stop the illegal use of this expensive gas.
Several intelligence agencies have reported to the government over the years about illegal gas connections. In those reports, they mentioned the involvement of leaders and activists of the ruling party at various levels and dishonest officials and employees of the Titas for the illegal gas connections. The Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources also wants to remove illegal gas connections.
According to the Ministry of Energy, the most illegal gas connections are due to the Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company ltd.
Allegations are there that a section of officials and employees of the distribution companies has allowed illegal connections to continue with illegal money. As a result, the government is being deprived of a huge amount of revenue. The government's revenue loss has multiplied after the import of high priced LNG.
