Standing Committee on Public Accounts
Profile
- Head
- —
- Role
- Chairman
- Annual budget
- —
- Staff
- —
- Established
- 1973
- Legal basis
- Article 76 of the Constitution of Bangladesh (empowers Jatiya Sangsad to appoint standing committees); Article 128(1) of the Constitution (CAG submits audit reports to the President, who causes them to be laid before Parliament, whereupon they are referred to PAC); Comptroller and Auditor General (Additional Functions) Act, 1974 (Section 5). Committee members are elected by the Sangsad itself.
The PAC is receiving 38 CAG compliance and performance audit reports covering 17 ministries (submitted to PM on 5 May 2026) for formal parliamentary scrutiny; top audit priorities include Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant housing procurement irregularities (Tk 36 crore pillow scam), Karnaphuli Tunnel tree-planting expense (Tk 50 crore disbursed, no trees found), and broader LGED and mega-project cost overruns. The committee's chairman for the 13th Jatiya Sangsad has not been publicly announced in indexed sources as of the verification date.
Recent activity
- 2026-05-05 audit CAG Md Nurul Islam handed 38 compliance and performance audit reports covering 17 ministries and divisions to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman at the Secretariat; the reports cover FY2021-22 expenditures and are to be laid before Parliament and referred to the PAC for scrutiny under Article 128(1) of the Constitution. Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Ghani and Finance Secretary Md Khairuzzaman Mozumder were present. ↗↗↗↗
- 2026-05-05 scandal The 38 CAG reports include audit findings on the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant 'Green City' housing project (pillow scam): each pillow procured at Tk 5,957 plus Tk 760 installation labour; comforter covers at Tk 16,800 against a market range of Tk 4,000-13,500; total housing procurement irregularity estimated at Tk 36 crore. The ACC had previously summoned 33 officials over the same irregularity. ↗↗↗↗
- 2026-05-11 audit PM Tarique Rahman publicly cited CAG audit findings on the Karnaphuli Tunnel: Tk 50 crore was withdrawn for roadside tree planting but the CAG found no trees planted. He also cited Rooppur pillow procurement at Tk 80,000 each and a dressing table at Tk 4-5 lakh against a market price of Tk 30,000-35,000, and alleged Tk 35,000 crore unaccounted in LGED projects. ↗↗
- 2026-04-26 other Road Transport and Bridges Minister Shaikh Rabiul Alam confirmed in a parliamentary written reply that the ACC is investigating irregularities in three mega projects: Padma Bridge (cost revised 4 times from Tk 10,162 crore), Karnaphuli Tunnel (revised twice from Tk 8,447 crore), and Dhaka-Ashulia Elevated Expressway (revised once from Tk 16,901 crore). ↗
Provenance & notes
The PAC is one of only two standing committees explicitly required by the Constitution of Bangladesh (the other is the Privileges Committee). It is established under Article 76, with its audit function flowing from Article 128(1) -- CAG reports go to the President, who lays them before Parliament, which refers them to the PAC. Members are elected by the Sangsad (not nominated by the Speaker). In past parliaments, the committee comprised 8-15 members; the chairmanship by convention goes to an opposition member in Westminster systems, but Bangladesh practice has historically varied. The 13th Jatiya Sangsad (BNP majority) convened its first session on 12 March 2026; committee appointments follow the first session but the PAC chairmanship for the 13th parliament has not been confirmed in any indexed primary source as of 2026-05-17 -- current_head is null to reflect this. The 38 audit reports submitted on 5 May 2026 by CAG Md Nurul Islam cover FY2021-22 for 17 ministries/divisions; constitutional procedure requires them to be laid before Parliament and referred to PAC for formal examination. The Rooppur pillow scam (Tk 36 crore procurement irregularity in the Green City residential building, Pabna) and Karnaphuli Tunnel tree-planting disbursement (Tk 50 crore disbursed, no trees found) are among the highest-profile items in the current audit cycle. The ACC has separately filed cases regarding Karnaphuli Tunnel against former minister Obaidul Quader and three others (financial loss: approximately Tk 585 crore from three non-essential components). Established_year set to 1973, the year of the first Jatiya Sangsad, as the committee has existed since Bangladesh's inaugural parliament.
Sources
- https://parliament.gov.bd
- https://www.parliament.gov.bd/Members-of-committees/151/public-accounts-committee-pac
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliamentary_committees_of_Bangladesh
- https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Parliamentary_Committees
- https://cag.org.bd/about/role-cag-constitutional-democracy
- https://cag.org.bd/about/what-we-do
- https://businessinbangladesh.com.bd/cag-submits-38-audit-reports-to-prime-minister-tarique-rahman/
- https://tob.news/cag-submits-38-audit-reports-to-pm/
- https://banglamirrornews.com/2026/05/05/204679/
- https://www.bssnews.net/news-flash/384423
- https://thebangladeshtoday.com/?p=33999
- https://tob.news/tarique-reveals-massive-graft-in-mega-projects/
- https://www.bssnews.net/js-session/381709
- https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/rooppur-pillow-scam-anti-corruption-commission-summons-33-officials
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rooppur_pillow_scandal
- https://dspace.bracu.ac.bd/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10361/2089/Public%20Accounts%20Committee.pdf