Project cost up by 111pc

The allocation for the “Ektee Bari, Ektee Khamar (One House, One Farm)” project has been increased by 111 percent in the second revision to cover all unions of the country.
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) at a meeting in the NEC conference room yesterday approved the project's second revision with a cost of Tk 3,163 crore, and also extended its timeframe till June 2016.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina chaired the meeting.
The project was first approved in November 2009 with an estimated cost of Tk 1,200 crore.
Later, the amount was increased to Tk 1,493 crore in the first revision of the project, and it covered 1,932 unions.
An official of the planning ministry said the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division had conducted a study on the project.
After the study, it had recommended expanding the activities of the project to all unions of the country, he added.
Till December 2012, Tk 885 crore was spent on the project. Around Tk 260 crore has been allocated for the project in the current fiscal year.
A planning ministry statement said under the project, the beneficiaries were being provided with skill enhancing training, loans, grants, and technical assistance after forming village development organisations for the poor based on the primary survey.
The Ecnec okayed 10 projects, including this one, involving Tk 4,532 crore at the meeting.