The Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) is going to inject some Tk 75 billion in additional funds for upgrading rural roads, as those were not constructed by maintaining standard, officials said on Friday.
They said since quality of the LGED-built rural roads is poor, the department is set to undertake nine fresh projects in eight divisions in a bid to upgrading those as per the standard.
Meanwhile, development experts have raised question over the injection of additional funds, as the government has already spent a substantial amount of public money over the years for constructing the rural road network across the country.
They also said the rural roads under LGED are usually of so poor quality that those do not remain operative even for two years after their construction.
Besides, project insiders have also criticised the latest move of LGED, saying at present the agency is implementing scores of road building projects across the country.
So, it is surprising that it has proposed nine fresh projects, they said.
According to the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperative (LGRD), LGED has proposed to take up nine projects at nine divisions to widen and upgrade the quality of upazila- and union-level roads.
For Dhaka Division, the agency has proposed a project at a cost of Tk 20 billion, for Sylhet Division at Tk 7.0 billion, for Rajshahi Division at Tk 10 billion, for Rangpur Division at Tk 7.0 billion, for Chattogram Division at Tk 12 billion, for Mymensingh Division at Tk 5.0 billion, for Khulna Division at Tk 7.0 billion, and for Barishal Division a project at Tk 7.0 billion.
Besides, LGED has also proposed a project for highway connecting road development and security improvement at Tk 50 million.
LGED in the current fiscal year (FY), 2017-18, is implementing some 190 projects having a total cost of some Tk 600 billion.
In the current Annual Development Programme (ADP), the government has allocated some Tk 90 billion for LGED to implement those projects.
A top official of Planning Commission said since LGED has invested billions of taka for developing the rural roads, the proposed projects in nine divisions are clearly overlapping with the existing ones.
Among others, LGED is now implementing more than 10 rural road and infrastructure development projects including Greater Chittagong Rural Infrastructure Development Project-3 at a cost of Tk 12.90 billion, Development of Patiya Upazila Road and Road Infrastructure Projects under Chittagong District at Tk 490.4 million, Union Connecting Road and Infrastructure Development: Greater Chattogram Project at Tk 4.08 billion, and Rural Infrastructure Development in Greater Noakhali, Feni and Laxmipur Project at Tk 5.92 billion, he said.
Similarly, in each of the divisions, LGED is executing at least eight projects investing a large amount of funds, he added.
State Minister for LGRD Md. Mashiur Rahman Ranga told the FE that the rural roads get damaged soon after their construction due to 'various reasons'. So, the government has planned to take up the new projects.
These projects will increase quality and ensure longevity of the rural road network, he opined.
"However, the reasons should also be found out why the roads are getting damaged or going out of operation within a year or two after their construction," he said.
"Since the government has invested a large amount of money to build the roads over the years, their feasibility should have been looked into before allowing construction," the minister added.
Professor of Economics at Dhaka University and Executive Director of SANEM (South Asian Network on Economic Modelling) Dr Selim Raihan told the FE that LGED has already invested trillions of taka over the years for developing the rural roads.
The quality of these rural roads is really very deplorable, and there is lack of proper maintenance, he also said.
"However, if LGED now realises that their constructed roads require upgradation, was it unaware of the standard in the past? Who will be responsible for constructing the substandard roads, at the cost of public money?"
"The government should punish the responsible agency or the people concerned. It should also ensure transparency and accountability in investment of public money," he added.
