By Mushtaq Ahmed

DHAKA, Aug 20, 2025 (BSS) - Disaster Management and Relief Adviser Farooq-e Azam said his ministry has returned Taka 2162 crore to the government treasury from the allocation of the government's TR and KABIKHA programmes for the fiscal year 2024-25.
 
"We took oath on August 8, 2024 and took charge of the ministry. At that time, I spoke to project officers across the country about the implementation of TR (Rural Infrastructure Maintenance Program) and KABIKHA (Rural Infrastructure Reform Program). According to their information, I came to know that the money was returned to the government," he said.

The adviser said this in an exclusive interview with Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) at his ministry's office in the city today.

The adviser said that the reduction in the special allocations for TR and KABIKHA has reduced corruption, wastage and regional equality. 

"The ministry used to provide corrugated iron sheets and blankets, such as buying them together in Dhaka and then distributing them from Dhaka to the entire country, but now the ministry no longer provides them in that way, he added.

He said that the procurement of corrugated iron sheets, dry food and blankets has been decentralized. 

"This has reduced the cost of storage and transportation in the central warehouse, saved time, increased the speed of distribution and made it possible to distribute them immediately," he added.

He said that political influence, nepotism and duality have been avoided in the selection of beneficiaries and a new list has been prepared instead of the old list.

The adviser said that the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief is working with the vision of reducing the harmful effects of various natural, climate change-related and man-made disasters to a tolerable level for the vulnerable population.

"In implementing that vision, the ministry is working to reduce disaster risk of the people, especially the poor and vulnerable groups, and establish an efficient emergency response system capable of dealing with disasters by increasing the overall capacity of disaster management," he added.

Farooq-e Azam, however, said that the important departments and organizations under this ministry are the Directorate of Disaster Management, Cyclone Preparedness Program (CPP), and the Office of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC).

"It has been made mandatory for the project implementation officers working at the upazila level under the ministry to submit a report on the projects for avoiding in future project implementation," he added.

The adviser said that the ministry has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Institute of Disaster Management and Vulnerability Studies of Dhaka University regarding internships under this ministry for students of Dhaka University.

"During disasters, we are trying to send trained personnel from various forces to rescue. For this, instructions have been given to all forces, including the Fire Service, Ansar and BGB, to form special teams for disasters," he added.

He said that due to early warning, it has been possible to reduce the amount of damage caused by cyclones, floods and tidal waves to a great extent.

The disaster adviser said that under the "Project for Search, Rescue Operations and Procurement of Equipment for Emergency Communication during Earthquakes and Other Disasters", 11 aerial platform ladders worth Taka 176 crore have been purchased and handed over to the Fire Service and Civil Defense Department.

In addition, under the "Project for Procurement of Equipment for Search, Rescue Operations and Emergency Communication during Earthquakes and Other Disasters", 13 types of items worth Taka 61.5 crore have been provided to 80,000 trained volunteers under the CPP for using in cyclone rescue work in coastal areas, he added.

The adviser said that in order to ensure transparency and proper monitoring in all the activities of the ministry, the TPP of the software development project titled 'Development of Integrated Disaster Management System' has been sent to the Planning Commission.

Under the "Construction of Flood Shelters in Flood-Prone and River Erosion Areas (Phase 3)" project, activities to construct 74 shelters are ongoing in this fiscal year (2025-26) and the construction of 63 shelters will be completed in the fiscal year 2026-27.

He said that 1,100 bridge construction activities are underway under the "Construction of Bridges or Culverts up to 15 meters in length on Rural Roads" project.

He said the construction of 143 disaster shelters is underway under the "Construction, Renovation and Development of Disaster Shelters" project.