Editorial
Expedite distribution
Allotted rice yet to reach targeted groups
A prominent Bangla daily brings into focus the fact that despite food and employment crises, some 13 thousand metric tonnes of rice allotted under test relief and food-for-work programmes remain stacked in government godowns. The food grains ought to have been distributed by February, according to plan. Now the Food Adviser Dr AM Shawkat Ali has asked the deputy commissioners to implement the unfinished projects and complete the distribution work by April 15.
Project implementation remains a perennial problem with us. No matter what the size of the project or the modalities of implementation, we have an uncanny ability for messing up things. The matter involved distribution of food grains in exchange for work, by far the simplest task of straight forward handing over of wage in kind. Even in doing this we have failed.
It's tell-tale negligence on the part of the authorities. In November-December last year the government had allocated 1,81,994 metric tonnes of rice to 479 upazilas under test relief and food-for-work programmes. Of the projects numbering 62,693, 19,702 involving 13,546 metric tonnes of rice couldn't be implemented.
The lapse is all the more inexplicable because the ministry had delegated the authority for project-wise distribution to the deputy commissioners. Of course the amount of rice stuck in the government godowns is not big but the episode raises a number of questions. Why in such a context of scarcity even a maund of rice should remain unutilised? It smacks of inefficiency and lack of supervision and coordination in the district administrations.
Some of the deputy commissioners have raised a few practical issues like delayed start of the projects for want of soil with the boro crop in the field. Due to lack of timely work evaluation, the fourth installment couldn't be given to the labouring poor.
We believe the whole matter warranted a probe which understandably the food adviser has ordered in a bid to find where things went wrong and devise ways and means to redress them.
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