The Planning Commission (PC) has expressed its reservation about the demand for an additional fund of Tk 14 billion placed by the Bridge Division for acquisition of land at the Padma Multipurpose Bridge project site to dump river spoil, officials said Friday.
The commission has asked the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) to examine the requirement of additional funds and explore the status of the land acquisition and money spent on the project.
The Bridge Division has recently sought additional Tk 14 billion, 4.86 per cent of a total of the Tk 287.93-billion Padma Bridge project, from the PC for acquiring land for disposal of spoil.
The government had earlier allocated Tk 12.98 billion for the same purpose. The construction firm of Padma Bridge construction project is now struggling with pilling works.
PC officials said the Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) under the Bridges Division has said it will use additional Tk 14 billion for land acquisition to dispose the spoil of the bridge construction works.
"After getting request from the Bridge Division, we have scrutinised the fund requirements and sought approval from the planning minister. The minister has raised his reservation about the demand for additional funds and asked the IMED to examine the issue," said a senior PC official.
He said now the IMED is basically examining two things. It will first find out the status of the land being acquired by the BBA and how Tk 12.98 billion, allocated earlier for 'spoil disposal' has been spent under the ongoing project.
Secondly, what is the justification of the requirement of Tk 14 billion in addition to the current allocation of Tk 12.98 billion for the same works, the official told the FE.
"After getting the IMED's report, we will scrutinise it and the fund requirement of the Bridge Division. If we don't find justification of the proposal for spending such a huge amount of government funds on the land acquisition, we will not endorse it," said the official.
Meanwhile, insiders said although there are huge 'khas' lands, 'chars' and unutilised public and private lands across the Padma River, the proposal for additional land acquisition and extra spending on it is an unusual step taken by BBA, the project implementing agency.
BBA can dispose of or dump spoil even into some privately-owned low-lying unutilised lands. Many land owners will be happy if the BBA fill their lands with the spoil and sands from the Padma Bridge project works, said some project insiders.
The BBA in its proposal said it will acquire 1167.98 hectares of land more in Munshiganj, Shariatpur and Madaripur areas, the project site of the Padma Bridge, with Tk 14 billion.
Earlier, the BBA acquired 1530.54 hectares of land at the project site at a cost of Tk 12.987 billion to dispose of the spoil of the river.
Bridge Division claimed that additional funds will be spent on land acquisition for spoil disposal of the river training works of the under-construction Padma Bridge.
"The acquired land under the existing project has been fulfilled. The siltation is one of the key reasons for fulfilling the earmarked lands. So, more lands are required for spoil disposal," a Bridge Division official said.
A PC official said, "Can you imagine that with additional Tk 14 billion proposed funds, the BBA will spend a total of Tk 26.99 billion, 8.57 per cent of the total project cost, for dumping spoil only!"
"The total cost for land acquisition (8.57 per cent) is comparatively higher than that of other similar projects in Bangladesh," he added requesting for anonymity.
The government in January 2016 revised the Padma Bridge project for the second time, raising the estimated cost to Tk 287.93 billion for completing it by December 2018.
In 2007, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) approved the mega project at an estimated cost of Tk 101.61 billion. In 2011, it revised the project first time, raising the cost to Tk 205.07 billion.
If the PC finds the BBA's demand for additional funds is valid, the proposal will be placed before the ECNEC for getting approval.
A PC official told the FE that if the ECNEC allows allocation of extra funds for the project, they will give it and then the Bridge Division must include it in the next revision of the project.
