A government project meant to safeguard the country’s food security is raising eyebrows for its surprising priorities.
Of the Tk431.75 crore budget, a mere Tk19.82 crore – just over four per cent – is set aside to repair 53 crucial food warehouses, while a staggering Tk200 crore is earmarked for constructing residential and office buildings.
The discrepancy was highlighted during a recent meeting of the Planning Commission’s Project Evaluation Committee (PEC). Officials questioned the rationale for prioritising housing over core food storage activities in a project explicitly focused on food security.
“There is a clear mismatch between the project’s title and its activities. We have advised corrections before approval,” Md Mahmudul Hossain Khan, member secretary of the Agriculture, Water Resources and Rural Institutions Division of the commission, told TIMES of Bangladesh.
The development project proposal (DPP) also allocates higher spending than warehouses for other areas, including Tk22.82 crore for electrical lines and wiring, and Tk15.16 crore for land development. An additional Tk20 crore is budgeted for transport, housing rent, festival allowances, computers, air conditioners, photocopy machines, and other ancillary expenses.
“A project’s name should reflect its main purpose and core activities,” said Pradip Ranjan Chakraborty, former secretary of the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division of the Planning Ministry.
“The institution proposing a development project must ensure its internal verification committee exercises greater responsibility and vigilance before submission,” he told TIMES.
At the PEC meeting, officials also stressed the need for a thorough review of project cost structure, prioritisation, and justification, alongside stronger transparency and accountability in project verification and approval.
The Planning Commission has also raised concerns over irregularities and a lack of transparency in several budget items of the project. The DPP includes an “honorarium” category twice, requesting Tk14 lakh in one instance and Tk1.69 lakh in another, but it does not specify who will receive these payments.
For project-area transportation an allocation of Tk1.08 crore has been proposed, with a monthly rent estimated at around Tk2.25 lakh. Questions have also been raised over the purchase of 5,904 plastic dunnage at Tk4.72 crore. While large allocations are made for laptops, computers, and furniture, the DPP does not specify quantities or unit prices.
The project sets aside Tk8 crore for consultants, but it remains unclear how many will be hired or what their responsibilities will be.
The Planning Commission also highlighted the Ministry of Food’s current negative financial position, questioning the rationale for undertaking a fully government-funded Tk431 crore project under such circumstances.
When contacted, Additional Director General of the Directorate General of Food Md Jamal Hossain told TIMES, “Most of the old warehouses are ruined and urgently need renovation. We are working on the project and will remove unnecessary items. However, alongside the food warehouses, other buildings on the site also need construction.”
Addressing concerns over the project’s title, he added, “The name was set incorrectly. It will be revised according to the requirements.”
The Directorate General of Food has been tasked with implementing the project officially titled “Repair, construction and reconstruction of three CSD and one LSD food warehouses and associated facilities.”
The department says the government’s food distribution operations are being hampered by inadequate storage facilities, making modernisation and repair of warehouses essential to increase storage capacity.
Under the project, facilities in Khulna, Tejgaon and Narayanganj central storage depots (CSDs) and the Dharmapur local supply depot (LSD) will be upgraded. Built between 1944 and 1959, these structures are now in a dilapidated state. Once completed, the project is expected to provide an additional 65,800 tonnes of effective food grain storage capacity.
According to the DPP, 16 warehouses with a capacity of 500 tonnes, 36 warehouses of 1,000 tonnes and one warehouse of 1,300 tonnes will be repaired.
In Narayanganj, nine 500-tonne warehouses will be renovated at a cost of Tk2.08 crore, while 29 1,000-tonne warehouses in Khulna will be repaired for Tk12.46 crore. In Tejgaon, seven 500-tonne warehouses and one 1,300-tonne warehouse are set for renovation at Tk5.29 crore.
The project also allocates Tk183.14 crore for residential buildings and Tk17.70 crore for non-residential construction. In Tejgaon, staff quarters are proposed with the highest allocation of Tk64.35 crore.
In Narayanganj and Khulna, manager and assistant manager residences, along with two rest houses, are planned, with each rest house estimated at Tk1.95 crore.
