Govt to start nationwide Canal digging in 180 days
Staff Reporter :
The government has decided to launch a nationwide canal excavation and re-excavation programme in the coming weeks, with a target to complete most of the work within 180 days, as part of its early policy priorities after assuming office.
The decision was taken at an inter-ministerial meeting chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman at the Cabinet Division conference room of the Bangladesh Secretariat on Thursday.
Ministers and state ministers of the relevant ministries were present at the meeting, according to sources at the Prime Minister’s Office.
The meeting focused on two major initiatives: a national river-canal-water bodies excavation and re-excavation programme, and a five-year plan to plant 25 crore trees — at a rate of five crore saplings annually.
Briefing reporters after the meeting, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Adviser Abdul Awal Mintoo said the government has decided to plant five crore trees each year, beginning in May.
He acknowledged that the full five-crore target may not be achieved this year due to time constraints, but assured that any shortfall would be adjusted in subsequent years.
Water Resources Adviser Md Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Anee elaborated on the canal programme, describing it as a revival of a historically significant initiative.
Referring to the canal excavation drive undertaken by former president Ziaur Rahman, he said that Zia had turned canal digging into a “national movement” and that the current administration seeks to restore that spirit.
He noted that Prime Minister Tarique had repeatedly pledged before the election to ensure that people benefit from the re-excavation of canals, particularly in terms of irrigation, drainage and flood control.
The inter-ministerial meeting decided that the Local Government, Water Resources, Disaster Management and Agriculture ministries will coordinate to determine the implementation timeline.
“The programme will begin very soon,” he said, expressing hope that most of the work would be completed within 180 days.
Policy analysts say that large-scale canal re-excavation could help mitigate waterlogging, improve agricultural productivity and strengthen climate resilience, particularly in flood-prone and drought-affected regions.
‘Family Card’ initiative moves forward Earlier in the day, another inter-ministerial meeting was held at the Secretariat to finalise the action plan for introducing the “Family Card” scheme — a key election pledge of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
Following that meeting, the Cabinet Division issued a gazette notification forming a 15-member Cabinet Committee on Family Card Implementation, headed by the finance minister.
The committee includes the ministers and state ministers for Women and Children Affairs and Social Welfare, the prime minister’s adviser Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir, advisers Mahdi Amin and Rehan Asif Asad, the cabinet secretary, and secretaries from the ministries of Women and Children Affairs, Social Welfare, Finance, Local Government, Planning, Information and Communication Technology, and the Election Commission Secretariat, among others.
According to the notification, the committee has been tasked with designing an appropriate structure for the Family Card programme and formulating criteria for selecting beneficiaries.
As part of its initial phase, the programme will be piloted in one upazila from each of the country’s eight divisions.
The committee will also examine whether any existing women-focused social safety net programmes can serve as a foundation for the Family Card system.
In addition, it will recommend a digital Management Information System (MIS) to integrate data from the National Identity Card database and the national household database, ensuring an accurate and transparent beneficiary list.
The government has set an ambitious deadline for the committee to submit a preliminary report by 24 February, with the aim of distributing Family Cards ahead of the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr.
Officials say the initiative is intended to streamline social protection benefits and make targeted subsidies more efficient, particularly for low-income families facing rising living costs.
Taken together, the canal re-excavation drive, mass tree plantation campaign and Family Card scheme signal the new administration’s focus on rural infrastructure, environmental sustainability and social protection in its opening weeks in office.