Transparency International Bangladesh on Thursday said that it found financial losses of 14.36 to 76.92 per cent for corruption in four climate change projects relating to the construction, renovation and maintenance of coastal infrastructures.
It came up with the disclosure at a virtual press conference to unveil the study report titled ‘Governance Challenges in Disaster Response and Way Forward: Cyclone Amphan and Other Recent Experiences.’
It said that there are specific allegations of financial losses of Tk 26 lakh to Tk 140 crore in the projects for corruption, said a TIB study.
TIB said that it made the findings after conducting research on the last five major natural disasters — cyclones Sidr in 2007, Aila in 2009, Roanu in 2016, Amphan in 2020 and the flood in 2019.
The study said that the volume of loss from natural disasters saw a considerable increase due to corruption and irregularities.
The findings said that the unskilled work as well as lack of coordination and preparedness made the disaster situation worse.
TIB’s deputy research manager Md Newazul Maula said that they observed corruption in the construction of disaster resilient infrastructure — dams, roads and shelters.
He said that the irregularities include giving priority to personal interests in the construction of shelters/dams using political clout, using shelters for personal purposes and distributing relief considering political purposes.
TIB executive director Iftekharuzzaman said that providing misleading information often leads to misunderstandings during local emergency warning campaigns and people’s suffering multiplies due to irregularities and corruption.
He said that there was a lack of effective initiatives to comply with international disaster management commitments and national policies.
