ECNEC okays compact township project for rural people

BSS, Dhaka :
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) Tuesday approved compact township project for rural people of seven divisions involving Taka 424.34 crore.
The cooperatives based township project branding as “Palli Janapad” aiming to save arable land, ensure food security as well as improve their living standards.
The approval came from the 5th ECNEC meeting of the current fiscal held at the NEC conference room in city’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar with ECNEC chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
Planning Minister A H M Mustafa Kamal, after the meeting, told reporters that four-story buildings will be constructed in seven villages of the seven divisions accommodating some 272 families in each village.
He said the project has been undertaken as a pilot basis and based on its successes it might be extended in future.
The project sites would be selected prioritizing on the wage-earners remittance prone areas.
Under the project, there will be flats in four categories for the beneficiaries. A-type flats would be sized of 915 square feet while B-type flats of 710 square feet, C-type flats of 460 square feet and D-type flats of 365 square feet with each square feet areas having a price of Taka 1603.
Of the total project cost, the government would initially provide 70 per cent of the cost while the remaining 30 per cent will come from the beneficiaries. The flat owners would repay the loan to the government in 15 years at a flat rate of 5 per cent interest.
The government will bear Taka 362.98 crore of the Palli Janapad project cost while the beneficiaries will contribute Taka 61.36 crore.
The ECENC today approved a total of three uplift projects including the Palli Janapad with the outlay of Taka 829.85 crore.
“Of the total project cost, the government will provide Taka 520.03 crore from the national exchequer while Taka 87.41 crore will come from the organization’s own fund and Taka 222.41 crore as project assistance,” informed Planning Minister.
State Minister for Finance and Planning M A Mannan was also present at the briefing.
About the Palli Janapad project, planning ministry sources said the project has been re-designed that includes expansion of the project area from three divisions to seven divisions, downsizing the buildings’ size from six-storey to four-storey and some increased amenities.
The Palli Janapad project is expected to complete by June, 2017. Center for Irrigation and Water Management (CIWM) and Rural Development Academy (RDA) will jointly implement the project under the Rural Development and Cooperatives Division.
The main project activities include construction of seven four-storey buildings, construction of another three-storey seven buildings for animal husbandry and marketing of agricultural produces, setting up solar panels, ensuring safe water supply, rain water reservation tank construction as well as lake, construction of biogas plant, producing high-quality organic fertilizer and its marketing, operating various income generating training for the beneficiaries and operating RDA credit operations for entrepreneurship development.
The day’s ECNEC meeting approved another project titled “Extended Cotton Cultivation (Phase-1)” project with TK 105 crore to be implemented by June 2018.
Cotton Development Board (CDB) under the Ministry of Agriculture will implement the project aiming to enhance the overall cotton production of the country.
The Planning Minister said the project will be implemented in 35 upazilas of 10 districts and once the project is implemented it would be possible to raise the cotton production to 7-10 lakh bales per year.
According to the Ministry of Textiles and Jute, the country imports around 4 to 4.2 million bales cotton per year with a cost of Taka 21,000 crore.
The day’s ECNEC meeting gave nod to another revised project titled “Siddhirganj-Maniknagar 230 KV Transmission Line (1st revised)” with downsizing the project cost to Taka 300.51 crore from Taka 391.70 crore. Of the total project cost, IDA of the World Bank will provide Taka 222.41 crore.
Ministers, State Ministers, Planning Commission members and other high officials were present in the meeting.