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DHAKA: Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan has called on Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) officials to prevent wastage of public resources and ensure their maximum utilisation.
“Government officials are custodians of public resources,” he said, stressing the need for accountability, proper planning and effective implementation of every development project.
The minister made the remarks at a discussion on LGED’s development activities at the department’s headquarters in Agargaon on Saturday.
He said preparing plans on paper was not enough and that effective implementation was the key. Given the country’s limited resources, development projects must balance needs and capacity to achieve maximum results at minimum cost, he said.
Moyeen Khan also called for development plans to reflect the needs of people and realities at the grassroots level.
He said LGED had played a significant role in transforming Bangladesh’s rural infrastructure and expressed hope that the benefits of current development initiatives would reach people over the next 20 to 30 years.
State Minister for Local Government Mir Shah Alam, who attended the meeting, called for reducing the use of bricks in rural road construction and increasing the use of uni-blocks and concrete blocks.
He said 6-to-9-foot-wide roads should use such alternatives instead of bricks, while RCC, carpeting and locally sourced stone should be used where appropriate on roads carrying heavy vehicles.
The state minister also directed officials to use-“binna grass”- to prevent soil erosion along roads in riverine and flood-prone areas.
He further called for installing solar panels at Union Parishads, Upazila Parishads, marketplaces and other local government institutions. Surplus electricity could be supplied to the national grid through net metering, reducing electricity costs and generating additional revenue for local institutions, he said.
Local Government Division Secretary Md Shahidul Hasan, LGED Chief Engineer Md Belal Hossain, senior ministry officials, district executive engineers, project directors and upazila engineers attended the meeting.