The government has decide to allocate around TK314 crore to public representatives under the Food for Work programme for implementing development works in their respective areas.
The members of parliament will get around Tk214 crore of the allocation and the upazila parishad chairmen Tk100 crore from the budgetary allocation of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief.
Sources said the ministry has already sent a letter to the Department of Disaster Management (DDM) granting the allocation.
The DDM in its turn has already issued an order informing a total of 267 MPs about the allocation.
Sources said the money for the allocation would be released only after the deputy commissioners (DCs) of the various districts approved the small development projects for which the allocation would be spent.
Another 32 MPs, mostly from the metropolitan areas, have been dropped from the allocation list because their areas generally do not see such “small projects.”
The projects include repairing or construction of small bridges and culverts; digging canals and ponds;construction and repairing of roads; repairing dams; filling grounds for social welfare organisations, and educational and religious institutions, DDM Director Nepursaid.
He expressed hopes that the money might be released within a week or two so that the projects could be implemented as soon as possible to reduce public sufferings in the rural areas.
Each of the projects would have separate chairmen who would look after the implementation under the monitoring of upazila project implementation officers (PIOs) and the upazila nirbahi officers (UNOs). The PIOs and the UNOs would report directly to the DCs. The local lawmakers and upazila parishad chairmen would recommend projects.
As part of the allocation, the public representatives would be given cash and rice. MPs from the seats reserved for women would also get allocation to do development work in their areas.
MurshidulHaque, deputy secretary of the disaster management ministry, said the chairmen of all the upazilas would not get the same allocation – it would depend on the size and population of their respective areas.
The lawmakers from the previous parliament were also allocated money for the same purpose. The progress reports of the projects being implemented with that money are due in June.
When asked why the government was allocating more money without knowing the progress of the previous projects, Nepur Ahmed said: “Although all the MPs [from 9th parliament] are not in the present parliament, we have enough time for getting the final report on the previous allocation.”
