The chairpersons of around 4,571 union parishads across the country have been instructed to be vigilant of unscrupulous middlemen attempting to lure them into paying cash for increases in allocations in their respective areas.
KM Mozammel Haque, national project director of the Local Governance Support Project, gave the instructions yesterday.
“We have received allegations that some middlemen are trying to convince UP chairmen to pay them money for increases in development allocations from the project.”
There is no scope for increasing allocations from the project as this would violate the rules, Mozammel said.
Mozammel said test messages regarding the matter were sent to all 4,571 UP chairpersons, as well as deputy commissioners, deputy directors of district local government divisions and upazila nirbahi officers.
The TK3,912 crore Local Governance Support Project is financed by the Government of Bangladesh and the World Bank. The World Bank has contributed TK2,093 crore.
Beginning in 2000 as a pilot project at Sirajganj, the project was expanded countrywide in 2012 in light of its success.
The project ends in 2016.
The project’s director warned chairpersons they would be being cheated if they gave extra allocations.
Mahbubur Rahman Tulu, president of Bangladesh Union Parishad Forum, said: “We have got such messages on the issue.
“We will inform the union parishad chairmen across the country to keep them alert though there is no probability that the chairmen will be cheated.”
According to the project plan, the allocations would be spent on infrastructure development in the wards of the union parishads.
The ward members will formulate small development projects in direct consultation with local voters.
To avoid duplication of projects, the schemes will be examined in meetings of the Block Grant Coordination Committee.
The project focus areas include the repair or construction of new bridges and roads, as well as the installation of tube wells and sanitary latrines.
The funding is not to be used for the construction or repair of any mosques, temples, or places of worship.
The Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives allocates the funds for union parishads through its Local Governance Support Project.
