It is impossible to break a 17-year-old syndicate in 17 days.
AF Hasan Arif is in charge of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism and the Ministry of Land. After being appointed as an advisor to the interim government, he also held the responsibilities of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives. Recently, this government advisor spoke to our time on contemporary issues in addition to his own ministry. He said, it is not possible to break the 17-year syndicate in 17 days. Interviewed by senior reporter Towhidul Islam
The current interim government has formed many reform commissions after taking office. In response to the question of when the reform work will be completed, Civil Aviation, Tourism and Land Advisor AF Hasan Arif said, reform is not a one-off event (one-time issue). Suppose an incident has been investigated; but action has not been taken. That is, even though problems have been identified, no action has been taken. Now, the name of reform is to look into them. Closing the paths of corruption is reform. This applies to all ministries. Reform is to stop the source of the problems. To investigate and eliminate the reason for the problem. Developing the system is the main reform. If there are irregularities due to the system or lack of capacity, we have to work on those areas.
AF Hasan Arif said, the system cannot be bought. It has to be developed. The problem has to be studied. For this, data is needed. I ask every organization whether there is research and development. Let’s say about air smuggling. Such data is needed as to which real passengers come on which flight, who among them is involved in smuggling, whether they have any previous records or not. The reality is that there is a huge lack of information. We have to look at each issue in this way and take action accordingly.
In response to the question of whether it is possible to complete the reform work before the election, the land advisor said, the Loan Arbitration Board was formed during the reign of Sher-e-Bangla Fazlul Haque. At that time, there was no microcredit in the society. Banks did not give loans, moneylenders did. Sher-e-Bangla formed the board to protect them from them. This is called reform. Reform is still going on. Dr. Yunus brought microcredit. Others are now giving it. I say, reform is not a one-off event. It is a process. It is ongoing. Now, the tehsildar will not have to be bribed for the Khatian. What would have happened if Amin had come for the survey? Now, digital management. Land registration is supposed to be under the Ministry of Land. There was such a recommendation. Reform is to make a better system. Suppose gold stolen from a plane is found. If it can be found through some technology, that is good. Therefore, reform never ends.
People are very interested in the election date. In this regard, Hasan Arif said, I cannot actually say this. The Election Commission has been formed. They can be asked. Regarding the demand to make the local government non-partisan, he said, the Reform Commission is working on it. Everyone’s opinion is being taken. Various laws are also being reviewed. The government will do whatever is best. Especially, the opinion of the voters, that is, the people, needs to be given priority. The opinion of those who will vote at the field level is important.
The current interim government has not yet been able to control the price of crude oil. In this regard, the Aviation and Tourism Advisor said, it is not possible to break the 17-year-old syndicate in 17 days. Suppose prices increase in Dhaka due to a change of hands from the Bogra location. There are middlemen here. What obstacles need to be removed in the flow of products from the producer to the wholesale market. It is important to remove the violence or harassment of middlemen. For this, individuals, organizations or institutions, starting from the Consumer Association, TCB, have the responsibility. I think it is not difficult to break the syndicate. A coordinated system will be needed. It is not difficult.
Regarding the challenges of the ministry that has been given the new responsibility, Advisor Hasan Arif said, the biggest challenge is to make it more dynamic. This is an important ministry. International and domestic flights operate in the airspace of Bangladesh. Another challenge at the moment is the third terminal. It is supposed to be usable by next year. Many things are being worked on. After that, passengers will be able to use it. The next challenge is its management. Ground handling for aircraft take-offs. It should have facilities like airports in other countries. Efforts are being made to improve it like or better than airports in Thailand, Singapore, Japan, and Malaysia. The government is trying to make it a good experience like other airports.
Regarding the image crisis of Biman and the lack of capacity, the Aviation and Tourism Advisor said, due to the activities of the past few days, a negative perception has been created about Biman. Such a perception has been created from ground handling, i.e. carrying passengers and cargo. Biman itself will have to do the work of improving quality and clearing the responsibility. Since there are three terminals. Facilities are increasing. So, thinking like the services of the previous terminals 1 and 2 or judging them in that way will not work. Hopefully, it will be able to provide much more services than before. Biman will become capable and efficient.
Regarding the runway problem at Shahjalal Airport, Hasan Arif said, “Passengers will not flock to the third terminal in the first place. We will have to wait for this. It may take 10 years. So we are optimistic. The government will take steps suitable for an aviation hub. We have seen in the past 16-17 years of practice that huge investments. There are reports of waste. We are thinking about the return on investment. We have to analyze the rationality.
When the topic of making Biman profitable was raised, the aviation advisor said, it cannot be made profitable in a day. It is not possible in a few hours or even a few days. The reasons why Biman could not be made profitable in the past must be found out. Corruption and irregularities must be eliminated. We will also look into the issues of ticket manipulation on Biman. Although problems were identified in the past, no action was taken. Although an investigation was conducted, no action was taken. If necessary, a new investigation will be conducted. If there is news of irregularities or nepotism in the appointment of pilots, action will be taken. Wherever there is any kind of irregularity or corruption, nothing will be left out in the investigation.” The advisor expressed his determination to go from table to table to identify corruption if necessary. He also said that if he gets any information, he will personally summon the relevant files.
Follow: greenbanglaonline24
