Like many areas of the country, effectiveness of the government run “Ektee Bari Ektee Khamar” (One House One Farm) project is coming under scrutiny in Meherpur, as many solvent people there are reportedly replacing the deserving poor ones using political connections.
Although the village-level cooperative association set up under the project is supposed to provide capital formation assistance to mostly poor farming families, a number of people already having fixed sources of income are becoming members and beneficiaries of the association instead.
Manager of the association in Uzulpur village, who owns three acres of arable land, said he became member of the association as the extreme poor people of the village were “less interested” in the project.
Sirajul Islam, 48, a day labourer in the same village said he did not know anything about the project as it was not promoted in the locality.
However, in an association in the same village, Jahangir, a member, owns four acres of arable land, Sahela and Fatema own three acres each, Imdadul possessed five acres and Rizbina owns one and half acres of arable land.
Upon visit, same scenario was found in Kulbaria village of the upazila.
In Fatehpur village, although poor people have been made members, they were leaving the project as most of them were ignorant about the actual aim of the project.
Seeking anonymity, one school teacher of the village said the project was on the verge of collapse as a vested quarter in the village was including people in the association based personal and political links, instead of actual need and level of poverty of the beneficiaries.
Denying such allegation, Alamgir Kabir, project coordinator in Meheurpur sadar upazila, said the selection committee included only poor and destitute people as beneficiaries.
However, if one or two comparatively solvent members are not included, it becomes hard to manage the overall operation of the association, he added.
“Around Tk7 crore has been disbursed as loans among the association members and the rate of redemption is nearly 70%,” he said.
On the other hand, the second phase of the project is yet to start in the district which is compelling the interested poor people to pay Tk2000, which is double the fixed rate to become a member of the association.
Alamgir said the first phase of the project ended last year while the second phase was scheduled to run from July 2013 to June 2016.
The circular to start the second phase arrived late in Meherpur. As a result, the process for formation and operation of association was delayed, he said.