20 officials to learn flower farming!

Offer to go abroad spending Tk 7.53 cr

Staff Correspondent: A team of 20 officers will go abroad for educational tour and learning flower cultivation. For this, the proposed expenditure is Tk 7.53 crore. Such a proposal is made in the project to set up flower research center. However, the Planning Commission vetoed it. A PEC (Project Evaluation Committee) meeting was held on the project on May 24. It is said that this expenditure was questioned there.
According to sources, the cost of 10 officers in two batches for training abroad for the implementation of the project is estimated at Tk 4 crore 81 lakh 62 thousand. As such, the cost for each is about Tk 48 lakhs. Besides, Tk 2 crore 71 lakh 40 thousand has been proposed for the study tour of 10 officials in two batches. It is estimated that the cost for each person is about Tk 27 lakh.
Planning Minister MA Mannan told, “We are working to prevent any wastage. In the last NEC meeting, the Prime Minister also said that there is no need for unnecessary foreign trips and foreign training. In accordance with the instructions of the Prime Minister, it has been ordered to look into the detailed cost proposal of the project proposal. The members of the Planning Commission are very competent. They do not approve allocation proposals in bold now. They are recommending approval only after a thorough cost analysis.”
According to PEC meeting sources, it was said by the Planning Commission in the meeting that Tk 4 crore 81 lakh 62 thousand and Tk 2 crore 71 lakh 40 thousand have been kept for foreign training and educational tour respectively in the proposed DPP. In the present context, training and educational tours may be omitted.
According to Planning Commission sources, the objective of the project is to set up a modern research center by 2027 to strengthen research on flowers and ornamental plants. Production of flowers and ornamental plants will be increased by 10 percent by 2027 through improved varieties of indigenous flowers and ornamental plants, development of modern cultivation and propagation methods and introduction of exotic flowers. Also, post-harvest losses of flowers and ornamental plants will be reduced by 15 percent by 2027 by developing effective post-harvest methods.
Referring to the opinion of the Planning Commission in the minutes of the PEC meeting, it is said that after reviewing the project, Project Evaluation Committee (PEC) meetings have been held three times so far. The last third PEC meeting was held on December 20, 2021. A year and three months after the third PEC, the revised DPP (Development Project Proposal) was made available to the Planning Commission on March 14. The names and designations of the members of the committee formed to check the feasibility of the project were not available.
It is said about various cost proposals, seminar and workshop will cost 71 lakh 80 thousand, publicity and advertising cost 12 lakh, signboards and tags will cost Tk 8.80 lakh under the project. Apart from this, audio-video and film production Tk 5 lakh, books and periodicals Tk 5 lakh, domestic travel expenses Tk 30 lakh, petrol well lubricants Tk 20 lakh, gas and fuel Tk 35 lakh, demonstration farm Tk 1.0 crore, printing and binding Tk 5 lakh. Tk 19.50 lakh and Tk 17 lakh have been kept in the consumer goods sector. These can be determined at the logical level.
Besides, in the proposed project, Tk 4 crore 61 lakh 90 thousand has been kept for four-storied single accommodation building for officials and employees, Tk 7.70 crore for construction of boundary wall and Tk 50 lakh for construction of main gate. These expenses were also discussed in the PEC meeting. AKM Fazlul Haque, Member (Secretary) of Agriculture, Water Resources and Rural Institutions Department of Planning Commission presided over it.
The project stakeholders said, why consultancy and consultants are needed can be discussed. Consultancy plan formulation, building construction, green house, cold house sector has been newly included out of decision of third PEC meeting. Some crews are caught in the project proposal. Out of this, Tk 45 lakh has been kept in the repair and maintenance sector. But its cost breakdown is not available in DPP.
The proposed DPP envisages construction of residential buildings with six-story foundations and four-story infrastructure with foundations. But there is no drawing or design of these infrastructures in the DPP, the concerned said.