BPI DG in charge appointed superseding his senior official
Staff Correspondent
The caretaker government has appointed principal scientific officer of Bangladesh Petroleum Institute (BPI) Anwar Hossain Khan as its director general-in-charge superseding a senior official, manifesting that outside influence in appointments and transfers continues.Anwar is already serving in hydrocrabon unit of the energy ministry as its acting chief on deputation from the BPI. Sources said that on Thursday, he was given the charge of the BPI in addition to his present responsibility. But the BPI has a senior general manager, Mokbul-e-Elahi, who is senior to Anwar. Mokbul is in grade two of the national pay scale while Anwar is grade three, the sources mentioned. Mokbul joined the BPI from Petrobangla in June when the government appointed his junior official, Nazrul Islam, as director-in- charge (finance) of Petrobangla, superseding him and another senior official. Meanwhile, three out of five key posts of Petrobangla remains vacant mainly due to inappropriate appointments during the BNP-led four-party alliance rule. The alliance government in June appointed Nazrul, ex-managing director of Bangladesh Gas Field Company Ltd (BGFCL), in the finance wing of Petrobangla and gave him an extension of service under a one-year advance contract for the post in the middle of last month. He retired on November 3. This advance contract was made possible because of his close family connections with the BNP, the sources said. Nazrul was also given unusual facilities, which his post did not justify. His contract was however cancelled last week. The posts of director finance, planning and production sharing contract (PSC) of Petrobangla are now vacant though it is a vital revenue earner for the government, fetching over Tk 2,700 crore a year for the public exchequer. Though Petrobangla still has a number of competent senior officials, the coalition government that politicised and divided different public entities since 2001, refrained from giving regular promotions and postings. It filled up vital positions on the basis of lobbying and potential candidates' political affiliation, sources said. In the last five years, a good number of competent officials and experts retired from Petrobangla, there had been no new recruitment from 1999. Besides, many officials left the organisation due to deterioration of working condition amid severe politicisation.
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