Sluggish Roads and Highways Department work irks parliamentary committee

Sluggish work in projects under the Roads and Highways Department has annoyed the parliamentary standing committee on estimates. 

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 26 Oct 2021, 05:39 PM
Updated : 26 Oct 2021, 05:39 PM

The educated officials of the department, who are involved with the projects, are “making fun”, the committee observed at a meeting on Tuesday, according to its Chairman Abdus Shaheed.       

The department explained the delay in completing projects in Dhaka, Sylhet, Mymensingh and Gopalganj, but its answers did not satisfy the committee.

“The projects’ deadlines have ended, but the work has not finished. They could not say when the work will end,” said Shaheed.

The department also said it had extended some projects without raising the cost, but the committee said this was a type of irregularity.

“The report they submitted says that the projects’ financial progress is at par with actual progress, but they can never be equal. There must be at least 1 percent deviation,” the committee chairman said.

“They could not offer an explanation on these matters. They could not give satisfactory answers to many of our questions.”

The Parliament Secretariat in a statement said the committee asked the department to submit a report explaining the extensions of nine projects under Dhaka Zone.