'Big' allocation to repair roads in next budget
Ashraful tells House
The government will allocate a "very big" amount of money in the next budget for renovation of roads across the country rather than constructing new roads, bridges, and culverts, LGRD Minister Syed Ashraful Islam said in parliament yesterday.
“We have done a study which shows repairing the roads is more necessary than constructing new roads, bridges, and culverts at present. That's why we have decided to allocate a very big amount in the budget for renovation purposes instead of allocating money for construction of new ones”, he said.
Ashraful, also general secretary of the ruling Awami League, said the successive governments since 1996, when he become a member of parliament, have not allocated any money in the budget for renovation, turning the roads and highways into bad shape.
Replying to lawmakers' queries, he acknowledged that money was misused in the name of repairing roads in many cases.
Responding to another query, Ahsraful said his ministry has a huge amount of money but could not spend for the construction of new union parishad complexes for want of lands in respective areas.
“The LGRD ministry may have to send back the money this year again if the respective union parishad authorities fail to provide at least 25 decimals of land to construct the parishad complexes”, he said.
On dependency of groundwater in the capital and the port city of Chittagong, Ashraful told the House that underground water level in the city has been depleting by about 2-3 metres every year and it is about five metres in the port city.
SEWERAGE MASTER
PLAN BY JULY
The minister said a master plan on the Dhaka city sewerage management will be finalised by July this year, as the Denmark-based consultation farm M/S Grontmij has already completed the draft plan. The consultation farm has also identified priority basis works design regarding the master plan, he added. He informed parliament that preparation of tender documents is underway to carry out the priority-based activities identified by the farm.
PLAN BY JULY
The minister said a master plan on the Dhaka city sewerage management will be finalised by July this year, as the Denmark-based consultation farm M/S Grontmij has already completed the draft plan. The consultation farm has also identified priority basis works design regarding the master plan, he added. He informed parliament that preparation of tender documents is underway to carry out the priority-based activities identified by the farm.
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