The High Court on Monday issued a rule asking the government to explain in four weeks why the continued dominance of foreign employees at the Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company Ltd, widely known as Rampal Power Plant, and the discriminatory pay structure between Indian and Bangladeshi employees should not be declared illegal.
The bench of Justice Md Akram Hossain Chowdhury and Justice Foyej Ahmed issued the rule after hearing a public interest writ petition filed by Supreme Court lawyer Md Salequzzaman Sagor.
The court questioned why the BIFPCL had failed to reduce the number of foreign employees, mostly seconded from India’s National Thermal Power Company Ltd, to 10 as required by its Human Resources Policy 2018.
The secretary to the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, Bangladesh Power Development Board’s chair, and Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company’s chair, among other respondents, were asked to reply to the rule in four weeks.
Currently, 51 Indian employees are reportedly working at the plant while the number should have been cut to 10 in 2024.
According to the writ petition, each Indian official receives approximately $4,500 extra in foreign currency per month in addition to high salaries and other benefits, but local employees are paid significantly lower amounts.
This disparity not only drains Bangladesh’s foreign reserves but also violates principles of fair employment, the petition argued.
The court also asked the authorities to explain why all key managerial and supervisory posts – including those of general manager, assistant general manager, chief financial officer, and project director – continued to be held by seconded Indian officials from the NTPC, sidelining qualified Bangladeshi recruits.
Petitioner Sagor, who moved the petition in person, said that the BIFPCL employed over 230 local professionals, including graduates from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, who were routinely denied opportunities for promotion and were subjected to discrimination.
He also claimed that most procurements were carried out through Indian vendors, despite the availability of suitable products on the local market, further putting pressure on Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserves.
The lawyer submitted documents showing that the NTPC employees received additional bonuses and benefits not available to the Bangladeshi staff.
He urged the court to order an investigation into the matter and take legal action if any violation of the country’s laws was found.
He further alleged that local employees faced humiliation and religious discrimination in some cases, particularly under the previous administration, and called for the protection of the rights of the Bangladeshi employees working at the plant.
The petitioner, referring to newspaper reports, said that the Indian nationals working at the company were drawing an average monthly salary of more than Tk 10 lakh each, as revealed by a financial review under the Bangladesh Power Development Board.
An equally owned joint venture of the governments of India and Bangladesh, the BIFPC has 51 Indian nationals to run the 1,320MW coal-based power plant situated at Rampal in Bagerhat.
The Indian nationals working at the power plant came on deputation from their original employer NTPC Limited, an Indian public sector entity, said BPDB officials.
A comparison with another power generation joint venture revealed that the Indian nationals employed at the Rampal plant earned three times more than what their peers received, with some Indian nationals’ monthly salary being close to Tk 20 lakh.
On an occasion, a BPDB assessment showed, an Indian employee of the power plant drew Tk 47 lakh in one month, thanks to a bonus and other benefits, while most of his fellow nationals earned between Tk 20 lakh and Tk 30 lakh in that month.
The BPDB’s finance wing reviewed the Indian nationals’ payments in October last year, three months after a student-led uprising toppled the past Awami League regime.
Discontent was widespread against the past AL government for allowing India to exploit Bangladesh in trade and bilateral relations.
A review of the list of 306 people working at the BIFPC revealed that 32 of the top 40 positions are occupied by Indians.
Starting with the position of managing director, the position of project director, all nine positions of general manager, all 18 positions of assistant general manager, and 20 out of the 34 deputy general manager positions are held by Indian nationals.