Even the officials concerned have admitted that this is an uncalled for expenditure provided 24% of the country’s population are still out of both on- and off-grid electricity coverage.
They put the blame on ambiguous instructions regarding the expenditure of the two funds – Food for Work (FFW) and Test Relief (TF).
As per the directives of the Department of Disaster Management, 50% of the allocations for FFW and TR have to go for solar system installation for those who still do not have electricity access.
But the money is being spent in line with the general directives for those schemes, leading to unnecessary installation of solar systems across the country, including Godadari upazila of Rajshahi.
On a recent trip, this correspondent came across several solar street lamps and home systems under the scheme in different places of the upazila, where the on-grid electricity is available.
“We have been spending 50% of the FFW and TR allocations for solar schemes over the last two years. But most areas of my constituency, except for a few chars, are under electricity coverage,” said Omor Faruk Chowdhury, MP of Rajshahi 1 (Godagari-Tanore).
The allocations were distributed among all the Union Parishads and it had to be spent accordingly, he added.
“The government has been providing 50% of the total allocations under the FFW and TR programmes for providing solar home systems, and mini/micro/nano-grid solar power generation for the marginalised community,” said Abu Syed Mohammad Hashim, an additional secretary of the Disaster Management Department.
A high official of the ministry, preferring not to be named, suggested that the implementation of solar power installation under the FFW and TR funds should be based on information of Bangladesh Power Development Board and Rural Electrification Board to avoid duplication.
Records show the government has already provided 296,718 solar units since the initiative started two years ago by spending more than Tk388 crore. The solar units have already been producing 3.2MW energy daily.
FFW and TR have an allocation of Tk2,809.55 crore for the current fiscal year.
A poor family of six or seven members gets a nono-grid solar system of 100W capacity from which four families get electricity with a certain price.
The money the beneficiary family will receive by selling solar energy to its neighbours is considered its income or real support under the two social safety net schemes.
According to the Power Division, 76% people of the country are currently living under electricity coverage.
The country’s total electricity generation capacity is around 15,540MW, while the current demand is around 10,000MW against the production of around 9,000MW.
Bangladesh has set the target for producing 3,165MW power from the renewable sources. Of them, solar power has the largest stake of 1,739MW.
Bangladesh currently produces 419MW electricity from renewable sources, including around 220MW from the solar source.
A total of 4,115,250 solar home systems have so far been set up across the country.
Siddique Zobair, a member of the Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority, said: “Primarily our target is to provide electricity through safety net to those areas where the national grid facility is absent.”
Wednesday, July 22, 2026
