No more mega projects, focus on small ones for rural dev: PM

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has asked the authorities concerned not to go for mega projects but to take up small ones that focus on rural development and public welfare.

Chairing a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) on Tuesday, she also urged all concerned to become frugal, avoiding luxurious items, and checking misuse of funds in the wake of the global economic condition.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, Planning Minister MA Mannan said the prime minister stressed the need for conducting a thorough feasibility study in case of undertaking any big project.

The premier has put utmost importance on boosting agricultural production to become self-reliant as well as increasing production of poultry, cattle and vegetables to meet the demand for protein and nutrition, he said.

The prime minister had mentioned that production would have to be raised while not a single inch of land can be kept uncultivated, Mannan said.

In this regard, the premier directed the cabinet secretary to identify the uncultivated lands across the country with the help of concerned deputy commissioners, he said.

The planning minister said although Bangladesh has just come out of the tunnel of Covid-19, the country is still suffering from the Dengue menace.

The prime minister called upon the concerned authorities and countrymen to become more aware to clean their houses, offices and yards to minimise the prevalence of Dengue fever, he said.

In response to a question, the planning minister said the prime minister is in contact with economists across the globe. Besides, many experts in and outside the government are assisting her with information. Because of that, the premier is repeatedly warning the countrymen about an impending recession.

MA Mannan said Bangladesh is under economic pressure as part of the rising global inflation but the country's inflation is coming down and there is nothing to worry about the foreign exchange reserve.

"Our remittance and export incomes did not drop. Remittance received during the July-October period of the current financial year was $7.12 billion as compared to $7.06 billion in the corresponding period of last financial year," the planning minister said.

The export earnings stood at $16.85 billion in the July-October period of the current fiscal, compared to $15.74 billion in the same period last fiscal. There is still $34.77 billion in reserves. If exports and remittances increase, the reserve will increase, he said.

In response to another question that banks are not able to open letters of credit (LCs) due to the dollar crisis, Mannan said it is not possible to analyse the entire situation with isolated scenarios. "We are trying to reduce the cost of imports by a large margin and some precautions have been taken in the case of LC opening."

"In this case, our goal has been achieved. Our LC openings in July-September stood at $18.58 billion, compared to $20.32 billion in the same period last fiscal," he said.

The planning minister also said the value of the taka had to be reduced in order to increase the supply of US dollars. "Because we want dollars to come to us. Expatriates are sending more remittances due to this devaluation of the taka. Exports are also increasing," the planning minister added.