The Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation, which has Tk 138 crore outstanding in 16 years to the state-owned car manufacturer Pragati Industries Limited,
has agreed to pay the dues in 115 years.
The dues remain unpaid since 1997.The corporation began to pay the dues in monthly instalments of Tk 10 lakh in August following an understanding.
Pragati managing director Solaiman Huq and the corporation chairman Jashim Uddin Ahmed confirmed the mutual understanding.
Pragati managing director Solaiman Huq told New Age that the understanding was made following a series of meetings were held between the communications ministry, the Roads and Highways Department, Pragati and the corporation.
The commission started paying Tk 10 lakh a month from August and it would pay the dues in 1,380 monthly instalments, he said.
The commission, however, assured Pragati of paying more than Tk 10 lakh a month if it could earn more money, he added.
The corporation chairman Jashim Uddin Ahmed told New Age that the corporation was paying regularly the dues to Pragati according to ministry’s order.
Pragati officials said that Pragati failed to pay bank loans taken to make vehicles as the corporation did not pay the dues.
They also said that the corporation bought 547
vehicles — 447 buses, 20 mini buses and 80 trucks — between 1997-1998 and 2006-2007 financial years.
The corporation had paid Tk 68.30 crore as the price of 52 buses and 10 trucks, they said, adding that the price of the rest 485 vehicles were yet to be paid.
The Tk 138 crore dues include Tk 63.72 crore as the prices of the vehicles and Tk 74.18 crore as the unpaid interests.
Roads and Highways Department officials said that they advised the corporation to pay the dues to Pragati from the money it earned by the vehicles purchased from Pragati.
Corporation officials said that the corporation failed to pay the dues as the vehicles bought from Pragati were not earning much because most of them remained out of order.
They said that 78 of the 547 vehicles had been sold as they were out of order, while 95 were now inoperative and they were not repairable.
Pragati officials, however, alleged the corporation for not maintaining the vehicles properly.
A Pragati official told New Age that Pragati had taken loan from BASIC Bank, Sonali Bank and Janata Bank to import the machineries for making the 547 vehicles. Pragati cannot invest and develop in new areas as it is yet to get the dues from the corporation.
According to Bangladesh Bank rules and regulation, loan provider can file a case against loan receiver for not paying the classified debt for more than five years, he added.
-With New Age input
