A Tk 1.08 crore government project to re-excavate canals in Naogaon’s Manda upazila has come under allegations of irregularities, including the inclusion of affluent people and political activists in the list of workers meant to provide employment to the ultra-poor.
The 40-day project, implemented under the Employment Generation Programme for the Poorest (EGPP), was designed to create jobs for 250 ultra-poor people while improving water drainage and reducing waterlogging in the area.
Under the project, canals stretching 3.6 kilometres were to be re-excavated in Kusumba and Varsho unions. The allocation included around Tk 50 lakh for workers’ wages, while the rest was earmarked for excavator operations, tree plantation and beautification.
Local residents, however, alleged that no day labourers were actually seen working on the canal excavation. They also claimed that the worker list included businessmen, shopkeepers, financially solvent farmers and political activists instead of genuine poor people.
According to project records, 250 workers were supposed to work every day, with 125 workers assigned to each of the two unions. Over the 40-day project period, the records showed 10,000 worker-days, with only 61 workers marked absent. As a result, just Tk 30,500 was returned to the government treasury.
Local residents alleged that the project was implemented without properly addressing complaints from landowners whose private agricultural land was included in the excavation plan.
Priti Rani of Kamarpur said 53 decimals of her land were included in the canal despite her complaints.
Mokhlesur Rahman Dewan of Varsho said he did not see any day labourers working at the site during more than a month of the project.
Farmer Anwar Hossain alleged that the project involved large-scale irregularities and claimed that political leaders from different parties had benefited from it. However, the allegation could not be independently verified.
Project Implementation Committee Chairman and Kusumba UP Chairman Naufel Ali Mondal denied the allegations. He said four excavators were used and claimed the 250-member worker list was correct, though a few solvent people might have been included by mistake.
According to the Project Implementation office (PIO), the canal was supposed to be 10 feet deep, with a 12-foot bed, 30-foot width and six-foot embankments on both sides. But local residents alleged that the actual excavation did not match the approved design at several points.
Farmers also expressed concern that inadequate water-control measures could cause waterlogging in croplands during the rainy season.
Manda PIO Md Ariful Islam, however, claimed that the project was properly implemented through the project committee and that 250 ultra-poor workers were employed for 40 days.
He said 61 worker-days were recorded as absent and Tk 30,500 was deposited back into the government treasury.
Asked why other upazilas returned much larger amounts after completing similar canal excavation projects, Ariful said those projects might not have been implemented properly or failed to ensure workers’ attendance.
He claimed that Manda was the only upazila among Naogaon’s 11 upazilas where the canal excavation was properly completed and full attendance of ultra-poor workers was ensured.
Manda Upazila Nirbahi Officer Akhter Zahan Shathi said she did not have detailed information about the canal re-excavation project and suggested contacting the PIO for details.
District Relief and Rehabilitation Office data showed that Tk 87,039,397 was allocated for re-excavating 13 canals in 10 upazilas of Naogaon, excluding Sapahar. Actual expenditure stood at Tk 73,084,415.
After completion of the projects, Naogaon Sadar returned Tk 41.50 lakh, Badalgachhi Tk 40.50 lakh, Porsha Tk 12.89 lakh, Mahadebpur Tk 12.50 lakh, Niamatpur Tk 9.83 lakh, Patnitala Tk 9.17 lakh, Atrai Tk 4.76 lakh, Raninagar Tk 4.67 lakh, Dhamoirhat Tk 3.46 lakh and Manda only Tk 30,500 to the government treasury.