Family card project to pilot before Eid

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman yesterday issued directives to immediately begin work on three key election pledges of his party.

On his second day in office, Tarique instructed the concerned ministers to ensure swift and effective implementation of the pledges -- the Family Card programme, the nationwide tree plantation drive, and the excavation and re-excavation of canals.

He urged them to set clear timelines, establish accountability mechanisms, and maintain transparency to fulfil the key commitments outlined in the BNP’s election manifesto, ensuring the initiatives do not generate controversy or negative public perception.

The directives were issued during two inter-ministerial meetings held at the Secretariat yesterday.

On the family card initiative, the government plans to target 5 crore families, with priority given to women. The programme will be launched on a pilot basis in eight upazilas, one in each division, before Eid-ul-Fitr, sources said.

To oversee implementation, the Cabinet Division formed a 15-member body, the “Cabinet Committee on the Provision of the Family Card,” led by Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury. The committee, comprising ministers, advisers, and secretaries, has been tasked with finalising the selection process, identifying eligible beneficiaries, and ensuring proper rollout. The Ministry of Women and Children Affairs will provide secretarial support.

The committee will select the upazilas for the pilot phase, prioritising marginalised and low-income families, sources added. The initiative aims to integrate and streamline existing social safety net programmes.

A preliminary report is expected by February 24, they added.

According to the committee’s terms of reference, its responsibilities include designing a framework for family card management, finalising beneficiary selection, arranging the pilot launch in one upazila per division, reviewing whether existing women’s cards can be used as a base, and developing a digital MIS linked to the National ID and National Household Database.

A committee member, speaking anonymously, said global best practices would be reviewed before implementation. “Inclusion errors, exclusion errors, and politically motivated distortions from the past will be addressed to ensure an optimal system,” he told this newspaper.

After the meeting, Women and Children Affairs Minister AZM Zahid Hossain said the family card would offer more than double the benefits currently available under existing allowance schemes. “It will be given on a priority basis to women. It will start before Eid. Within six months, we hope coverage will reach 50 percent,” he said.

He added that the cards will be delivered directly to recipients using IT-based mechanisms to prevent pilferage.

On the tree plantation drive, the government plans to plant 25 crore trees over the next five years, beginning in May. Sources said this year’s target may fall short due to sapling shortages, and officials from the agriculture and forest departments are assessing available stocks.

“If the 5-crore target cannot be met this year, it will be adjusted next year,” Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Abdul Awal Mintoo told reporters. Trees will be planted in char areas, along riverbanks, on embankments, in hill tracts, and in the Sundarbans, sources added.

The government also plans to excavate and re-excavate 20,000 kilometres of canals, rivers, and water bodies nationwide. The initial phase is expected to begin in Dhaka, with implementation jointly overseen by the Ministry of Water Resources, the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief.

Earlier in the morning, the prime minister left his Gulshan residence at 8:34am in his personal vehicle. On his way to the Secretariat, his vehicle stopped at four traffic signals like others, where pedestrians applauded and greeted him, prompting the prime minister to wave in response.

Upon arriving at the Secretariat, he inquired which ministers, secretaries, and officials were present at their offices, sources said.