Projects worth Tk 90,000cr in pipeline: State Minister

The current government is working extensively to improve the country's infrastructure. State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives, Mir Shahe Alam, has stated that various development projects worth around 90 thousand crore BDT are currently in the pipeline.

The State Minister emphasized the importance of keeping canals inside municipalities clean and expanding tree plantation drives. At the same time, he directed the swift and proper implementation of the Family Card and Farmer Card programs to strengthen social security.

He made these remarks on Wednesday morning (11 November) at a workshop titled "National Workshop on Preparation and Update of Risk-Informed Master Plan for Municipalities" held at the LGED building in Agargaon.

Explaining the importance of the Family Card, Mir Shahe Alam said that while it may seem insignificant to many, it is a vital support system for poor families. Despite it being a high-risk initiative, the government has allocated a budget of 13 thousand crore BDT for it.

He shared that the goal is to reach four crore families with this card within the next four years. Aimed specifically at empowering rural women, the card will be handed to the female head of the family.

Describing this initiative as universal, he added that families of all citizens—from the President and Prime Minister to everyday people—will be included under its scope. He also announced that within the next four years, all religious representatives or leaders will be brought under an honorarium allowance scheme, with 70,000 institutions coming under its coverage within this year.

Sharply criticizing corruption in public service, the State Minister noted that ordinary citizens face severe harassment while trying to get birth and death registrations at municipal offices. Often, under the pretext of a "server outage," people are made to run around for 2 to 3 days just to solicit bribes. He warned that no such harassment will be tolerated. He also remarked that most of the country's municipalities in the past were formed based on political considerations.

-MT