Bangladesh owes Tripura Rs 200 crore in unpaid electricity bills

Agartala: Bangladesh owes Tripura Rs 200 crore in electricity dues but no decision has been taken on halting power supply to the neighbouring country yet, Chief Minister Manik Saha said on Monday.

Tripura supplies 60-70 megawatts of power to the neighbouring country according to an agreement signed by the Tripura State Electricity Corporation Limited through the NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited with the Bangladesh Power Development Board.

"Bangladesh has not paid us about Rs 200 crore for supplying electricity. The outstanding (amount) is increasing every day. We hope that they will clear their dues so that the power supply is not disrupted," Saha told PTI here in an interview.

Asked whether the Tripura government would stop the supply of electricity if Dhaka fails to pay the dues, the chief minister said no decision has been taken on it yet.

He said several pieces of machinery at the power generation plant in Tripura were brought through either Bangladeshi territory or Chittagong port. Therefore, out of gratitude,e the Tripura government started supplying power to the country following a pact.

"But I don't know how long we will be able to continue the supply of electricity to Bangladesh if they don't clear the dues," he said.

Tripura began supplying power to Bangladesh in March 2016. The electricity is produced at the state-owned ONGC Tripura Power Company's (OTPC) gas-based 726 MW generation capacity power plant in southern Tripura's Palatana.

According to reports, Adani Power, which exports power to Bangladesh from its 1,600 MW Godda plant in Jharkhand, reduced the supply to 520 MW from around 1,400-1,500 MW in August due to non-payment of USD 800 million by the country.

Asked about the impacts on Tripura due to the reported attacks on Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh, Saha said there is no major influx from the neighbouring country to his state yet.

"But we are closely monitoring the situation along the border since the border is porous as there are many gaps. However, as of now, there is no major influx from Bangladesh after the present turmoil started in that country in August," he said.

Tripura is surrounded by Bangladesh on its north, south and west and the length of its international border is 856 km, which is 84 per cent of its total border.

Commenting on the recent breach of security at the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Agartala, the chief minister said he had taken strong action in the case.

"We have arrested several people who were involved in it. We have also taken action against policemen who were responsible for the security of the premises where the breach took place," he said.

Saha said after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in Bangladesh, trade has been affected and the import of Bangladeshi goods to Tripura has come down significantly.

He said among the goods that come to Tripura from Bangladesh are cement, stone chips and Hilsa fish. "Supply has been disrupted. It is their loss," he said.

Asked about the communication network with Bangladesh, he said if the railway line is restored between Agartala and Dhaka, it would be immensely beneficial for both the country.

"If Chittagong port is allowed to be used without any disruption, the entire Northeastern states will be significantly benefitted," he said.

The direct road distance to Chittagong port from Agartala is around 175 km.

A rail line linking Agartala with Akhaura in Bangladesh was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his then Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina on November 1, 2023.

The project has a length of 5.46 km in India and 6.78 km in Bangladesh.

The cost of the Indian portion was Rs 708.73 crore and funded by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER).

The cost of the Bangladesh portion was Rs 392.52 crore. The Bangladesh portion is funded by the Ministry of External Affairs India and executed by the Bangladesh Railway.

If the overland transport right is allowed by Bangladesh, the travel time between Agartala and Kolkata is expected to come down from about 30 hours to about 10 hours.

The existing train commute distance between the two cities is 1,581 km and it requires a re-route via Guwahati and Lumding in Assam. This would be curtailed to 460 km, officials said.