'One House One Farm' irregularities probe outside rural development division's jurisdiction, minister tells parliament
Investigating irregularities in the allocation and spending of the Awami League government's 'One House One Farm' project does not fall within the jurisdiction of the Rural Development and Cooperatives Division, Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Dr Abdul Moin Khan has told parliament.
The minister gave the information on Monday (9 November) in reply to a written question from Member of Parliament Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas during a session of the National Parliament. Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed Bir Bikram presided over the session.
The MP had asked how much money in total was spent on the 'One House One Farm' project during the previous Awami League government, and whether any action would be taken after investigating the allegation that most allocations were made on party considerations.
In reply, Minister Dr Abdul Moin Khan said the 'Amar Bari Amar Khamar' project was implemented from July 2009 to June 2021 in 492 upazilas across 64 districts in seven divisions of the country.
The estimated cost of the project was 78,852 crore 70 lakh 5 thousand taka, the minister said.
He said the project ended on 30 June 2021. To give its activities a permanent form, it was converted into the Palli Sanchay Bank.
From 1 July 2021, the bank was handed over to the Financial Institutions Division of the Ministry of Finance. The minister said the related work is continuing from that division.
The Local Government Minister said that as no activity of the Palli Sanchay Bank is under the Rural Development and Cooperatives Division, it appears that investigating the alleged irregularities does not fall within this division's jurisdiction.
