17 new RHD projects likely to get funds from RADP

Some 17 new projects of the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) are expected to get funds from the Revised Annual Development Programme (RADP), although five of these projects were not included in the original ADP for the fiscal year (FY) 2013-'14.

Officials said the Planning Commission included 12 projects in the pipeline and five from a fresh list considering their importance to development of the road infrastructure in some areas.

However, sources said due to political pressure from influential quarters, the RHD through the ministry of communications proposed inclusion of over 100 projects in the RADP.  The Planning Commission finally agreed to fund 17 projects.

RHD officials said the request for funding five new projects was linked to improving regional and highway-related connectivity.

Of these projects, they said Bholta flyover project was likely to improve the traffic situation on Dhaka-Sylhet Highway, and the Modhumati-Kalna Bridge project would ensure connectivity with Benapole border area.

However, sources said the road from Manikdi Signal to SSB road through the cantonment area has been included as a fresh project in the RADP on request from the Bangladesh Army.

Besides, a road to connect Terokhada upazila with Khulna through Mawa highway has also received importance on request from local influential quarters. The last new project was developing the RHD training and research laboratory.

RHD has long been facing resource constraints due to inclusion of newer projects every year. For that reason, it, on one hand, has been experiencing the accumulation of totally non-funded projects, and, on the other hand, it could not complete many projects on time due to not availability of enough allocation in the yearly budget.

Officials said like in the previous years, the ministry of communications has proposed some projects to be included in the RADP from its 'pipeline projects', which were enlisted in the 'green page' of the ADP book as part of a common practice.

When asked about political pressure for including road development-related projects in the list, an official concerned said it was hard to avoid pressure from local and national-level political leaders as roads are very important to them to demonstrate their strength to the people of their respective localities.

"It has become our culture to take up a plan of road development project in an area upon being pressed by the local people. In absence of RHD's mechanism to assess the demand of roads, it also cannot be avoided.

Planning Commission sources said that of the projects put up for inclusion, many were not even prepared. "We even have not received the DPPs of the projects, or the names that were sent for inclusion," said an official adding that 20 such projects were on the RHD request-list this year.

In the ADP for FY 2013-14, 143 projects were included. Of them, 83 were approved without funding. Their numbers in the RADP were proposed to be increased to 103.