Tk 1.28cr for foreign tours a waste of public money: Experts

Despite more than Tk 1.28 crore has been allocated only for foreign tours of officials in an irrigation project, experts say Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA) is experienced enough in this regard.

They said the government officials concerned need not go abroad for gathering knowledge. A huge amount public money is being wasted, they added.

On August 27, Ecnec approved a Tk 128.18 crore irrigation project to be implemented in five districts -- Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj, Naogaon, Natore and Bogura -- between 2019 and 2023. A total of 715 ponds and 10 dighis will be re-excavated in the project.

According to BMDA officials, among other things, Tk 86 crore will be spent for re-excavation of ponds and canals, Tk 15.30 crore for buying low-lift pumps and Tk 2 crore for tree plantation while Tk 1.28 crore has been allocated for foreign tours of 16 government officials.

The foreign tour would be in two phases, eight officials in each phase, four officials of BMDA and four from different ministries including the planning and agriculture.

They would visit either Australia, New Zealand or the Netherlands.

When contacted, Prof Chowdhury Sarwar Jahan of Geology and Mining department of Rajshahi University said, involving unnecessary foreign tours in a project is wasting public money.

“We should use our own expertise and research first. I don’t think BMDA need further experience in works like re-excavation of ponds and using surface water,” said Prof Sarwar, also a member of National Committee for Strategies of Managed Acquirer Recharge.

According to officials, BMDA has successfully re-excavated at least 3,032 ponds and 1,643 kilometres of canals for irrigation since 1985. Recently, they re-excavated 17 acres of ponds in Barind region of Naogaon’s Porsha upazila.

In the last decade, they collected 48 cusec of water from the river Padma and took it through pipelines to the 24km Sormongla canal 3.5km away from the river during monsoons, supporting irrigation round the year.

BMDA Executive Director Abdur Rashid yesterday told The Daily Star, “There is no limit to gather knowledge.” They want to see what others are doing in using surface water, he said. “We’re not committing any crime.”

The foreign tours would enrich the experience of our officials in implementation of the project successfully as the selected countries have had success with experience in preserving rainwater and dealing with other surface water for irrigation.