Why again loss of money?

Although the members of parliament had asked for these food grains, they now say they need money in lieu of the grains. And the finance ministry has approved of their demands

The food ministry is planning to sell off 4 lakh tonnes of food grains worth Tk 12.57 billion for only Tk 4.5 billion, and in the process it would incur a loss of about Tk 8 billion, according to a report of a vernacular daily yesterday. The food department had purchased rice and wheat grains for the social safety net programmes, test relief and the food for work programme. Although the members of parliament had asked for these food grains, they now say they need money in lieu of the grains. And the finance ministry has approved of their demands.
Earlier too there were reports of the authorities trying to use substandard wheat imported from Brazil in different government programmes like TR, JR, KABIKHA (Kajer Binimoye Khaddo), etc. But mill owners refused to accept the rotten wheat provided by the officials of the Department of Food, claiming that they were infected with insects. Sale of the wheat was also stopped in Open Market Sale (OMS) as customers refused to buy it, complaining that the quality of wheat was poor and unfit for consumption.
Now in the present case how this situation was allowed to come to such a pass deserves attention from the concerned. It is expected that a high level committee should be formed to investigate the matter to find out the people responsible. Eight billion taka is not an insignificant sum by any standards.
The government has the Test Relief programme where it allocates food grain for maintenance of rural infrastructure during monsoon. The government has also Food for Work (FFW) and Rural Maintenance Programs (RMP). The government also has different projects and other programmes like food for work where it takes the responsibility to ensure food or money to people for work. All these are social safety nets to ensure that nobody in the country goes hungry. While we do admit that these programmes are well intentioned, but the ground reality suggests that the widespread corruption has prevented the programmes from being real success stories. Whenever any anomalies regarding these programmes are reported, the trend is to shift blame on others.  
Throughout the last couple of years there have been reckless irregularities and corruptions in these projects. Half of the allocated money has gone to the pockets of local leaders and workers. The rice and wheat of KABIKHA were also sold in the market. Often because of dispute over sharing, the rice and wheat were returned. In some places entire money was drawn without completing 40 per cent work of the projects. But there must be transparency in the implementation of TR-KABIKHA projects.

Why again loss of money?

Although the members of parliament had asked for these food grains, they now say they need money in lieu of the grains. And the finance ministry has approved of their demands

The food ministry is planning to sell off 4 lakh tonnes of food grains worth Tk 12.57 billion for only Tk 4.5 billion, and in the process it would incur a loss of about Tk 8 billion, according to a report of a vernacular daily yesterday. The food department had purchased rice and wheat grains for the social safety net programmes, test relief and the food for work programme. Although the members of parliament had asked for these food grains, they now say they need money in lieu of the grains. And the finance ministry has approved of their demands. Earlier too there were reports of the authorities trying to use substandard wheat imported from Brazil in different government programmes like TR, JR, KABIKHA (Kajer Binimoye Khaddo), etc. But mill owners refused to accept the rotten wheat provided by the officials of the Department of Food, claiming that they were infected with insects. Sale of the wheat was also stopped in Open Market Sale (OMS) as customers refused to buy it, complaining that the quality of wheat was poor and unfit for consumption. Now in the present case how this situation was allowed to come to such a pass deserves attention from the concerned. It is expected that a high level committee should be formed to investigate the matter to find out the people responsible. Eight billion taka is not an insignificant sum by any standards. The government has the Test Relief programme where it allocates food grain for maintenance of rural infrastructure during monsoon. The government has also Food for Work (FFW) and Rural Maintenance Programs (RMP). The government also has different projects and other programmes like food for work where it takes the responsibility to ensure food or money to people for work. All these are social safety nets to ensure that nobody in the country goes hungry. While we do admit that these programmes are well intentioned, but the ground reality suggests that the widespread corruption has prevented the programmes from being real success stories. Whenever any anomalies regarding these programmes are reported, the trend is to shift blame on others. Throughout the last couple of years there have been reckless irregularities and corruptions in these projects. Half of the allocated money has gone to the pockets of local leaders and workers. The rice and wheat of KABIKHA were also sold in the market. Often because of dispute over sharing, the rice and wheat were returned. In some places entire money was drawn without completing 40 per cent work of the projects. But there must be transparency in the implementation of TR-KABIKHA projects.