111 permanent houses for victims of flood, river-erosion
The government has decided to build 111 permanent houses for victims of floods and erosion of rivers across the country with money from the Climate Change Trust Fund. As part of this initiative, the disaster management and relief ministry has taken up a project to initially build 111 disaster-resilient houses in Chandpur district. Of these, 53 homes will be built in Uttar Matlab, 23 in Dakkhin Matlab and 30 in Haimchar upazilas, said officials of the disaster management and relief ministry. According to sources, about Tk. 5 crore would be needed to construct the homes. Project officials said the permanent houses would be built with concrete and bricks. These houses would replace houses damaged by floods or river erosion, they added. Each of the two-room houses would be built on the victims lands, the officials said, adding that the government would provide khas land for building the houses in case land is not available. According to the project authorities, the construction of the buildings will start by June this year. To start the construction, the project authorities have already floated a tender, inviting proposals from contractors. The bidders would be allowed to submit their construction proposals by June 3.
The environment and forest ministry has already allocated Tk. 5 crore from its Climate Change Trust Fund to implement the project. After getting the funds, the disaster management and relief ministry will appoint officials to ensure smooth implementation of the project. Project director Mohammad Omer Faruque Dewan told The Independent that they have floated a tender, inviting proposals from contractors. The tender process would be completed by June and the work order would be given within this month, he said, adding that the contractors would get two months to complete the construction of the single-storey houses. Around Tk. 4.50 lakh will be spent to construct each of the houses. The construction will be completed by August this year and the buildings will be handed over to flood and river-erosion victims, he added.
