India is playing unnecessarily a child's game. India should not have insisted on 85% procurement from that country to start with. Now, it is insisting on 65%, which is also impractical because BD will certainly not procure any materals that are available in good quantities in Bangladesh, cheap or expensive. I think, instead of this 65% procurement clause, India should show more flexibility if it wants to show its heart. India does not realize that it is not liked by Bangladeshi people. So, it should come out of its very tiny shell of mindset.
Reality is BD does not produce many construction materials, Think of steel-made railway lines and rolling stocks (wheels) for rly passenger and freight coaches. BD will certainly find it convenient to procure these and many other items such as railway signal, signal posts, lights (green and red), steel/concrete sleepers, stones under the lines etc.
So, instead of sticking to an UNREAL 65% procurement from India, the clause must be substituted with a clause that will stipulate that each joint project team will take into consideration which items to be procured domestically and which to come from India. It will ease the situation.
I always thought Indian bureaucrats are more pragmatic than their counterparts in Bangladesh. However, after seeing their approach I do not find them any better. But, who knows, India is probably aware that its lap dog AL will be ousted from power in the next general election. So, it is just killing time until that time arrives.
