State Minister for Finance and Planning MA Mannan has blamed the lower-tier of bureaucracy for hindering implementation of the development budget as well as reaching the vulnerable char and haor areas across the country.
“This has been a disease in the lower-tier bureaucracy … they hardly release the fund unless there’s a persuasion by those who need it,” he told a seminar yesterday.
A number of NGOs, including Concern Worldwide and Irish Aid, organised the seminar at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity (DRU) on the necessity of specific fund allocation in the national budget for the people living in the country’s char areas.
Chaired by Khandoker Ibrahim Khaled, the seminar was also addressed, among others, by AzizulHaqueArzu, MP, and AKM Musa of Concern Bangladesh.
“Though allocated funds of the national budgetare timely released for development projects by the Ministry ofFinance, those hardly reach the targeted points because of barrierscreated by the lower-tier bureaucracy,” said MA Mannan.
The State Minister said the government is pledged-bound for the development of char (shoal) and haor (water bodies). That’s why a development plan was approved by the government in this regard.
He pointed out that there are some other problems in char areas like non-availability of soil for different development projects as nobody wants to sell soil.
Mannan also admitted that sometimes top-level government officials are found less attentive to development of the char and haor areas.
He, however, assured the organisers of conveying their demands to the government policymaking level and urged all to resist the opposition’s subversive activities.
The seminar was told that about 5-6m people are living in charand haor areas across the country facing various risks.
Of them, 65% do not have adequate access to food and proper nutrition,while 70% have no land of their own and 85% pregnantwomen are fully deprived of healthcare services.
KhandakerAzizulHaqueArzu, MP said the government has to executecoordinated development programmes in the char areas through anequitable distribution of wealth. This has to be reflected on thenational budget.
Khondkar Ibrahim said the development fund should be provided to thelocal-level administration for proper implementation of project.“There should be an exclusive trust or development body for char andhaor areas,” he suggested.
