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Radical rural dev planned

Govt allocates Tk 66,234 crore budget


Published : 05 Jul 2019 08:25 PM | Updated : 04 Sep 2020 11:30 PM

In a bid to improve the life of the rural community the government has given special focus on rural development allocating a record amount of funds for the first time. As pledged in its electoral manifesto the government has allocated Tk 66,234 crore budget this fiscal exclusively for the rural development including constructing feeder roads, bridges, and culverts, new buildings, setting up communication networks and new health & IT centers and other infrastructures.
The budget allocation is around Tk 7000 crore more than the allocation of Tk. 59,677 crore against the last fiscal 2018-19. Such an increase in budget for rural development reflects the government’s seriousness in the comprehensive improvement of the country.

As per the plans, there is a target of constructing 5,500 km new roads and repairing bridges and culverts 30,500 meters long, while maintaining 13,000 km pucca roads and 3,700-metre bridges and culverts during the current fiscal. The construction works would also include building 190 growth centers and markets, construction and expansion of 64 Upazila Complex buildings and 130 cyclone shelters.

Moreover, the implementation of a modern community housing project, namely ‘Palli Janapad’, is in progress along with the construction of roads, bridges and culverts, growth centers, markets, and cyclone centers.The development of marshlands, construction of sources of safe water and modern drains, expansion of sewerage facilities in rural areas across the country as well as in three Hill districts, is also underway.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in her budget speech said that the state shall adopt effective measures to bring about a radical transformation in the rural areas through the promotion of an agricultural revolution, the provision of rural electrification, the development of cottage and other industries.The improvement of education, communications, and public health, in those areas, will be ensured so as progressively to remove the disparity in the standards of living between the urban and the rural areas.

The government has focused on rural development by adopting - ‘Village will be Town’ theme, following the concept of ‘My Village, My Town’ as described in the Election Manifesto, 2018.It will ensure the establishment of agricultural machinery service centers and workshops, create employment, contribute to the manufacturing of light types of machinery, and credit facility for marketing at the village level. All these developments would take place retaining all existing features of the villages.

The government will make the necessary allocation for the relevant ministries in the timely implementation of all the programs.Meanwhile, sources said that currently 60 lakh poor families are organized through 1 lakh 1 thousand 42 village co-operative societies under the project of ‘My House, My Farm (Amar Bari Amar Khamar)’, a dream venture of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, to alleviate poverty permanently by 2020. Around 95 thousand 386 co-operatives have been organized until March, 2019, under which the total number of direct and indirect beneficiaries is 2 crore 12 lakh 33thousand.