UNB, Dhaka :
The government will rehabilitate some 21,500 landless families in four newly emerged chars (shoals) in the Bay of Bengal near the coasts of Noakhali and Chittagong districts.
A total of 33,400 acres of khas land will be distributed among the families under Char Development and Settlement Project-4 (CDSP-4) of the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB), project coordination director Engr M Shamsuddoha told UNB.
Five ministries are jointly implementing the Tk 579-crore project at Nangoliar Char, Nalerchar and Char Ziauddin of Noakhali and Urir Char of Chittagong.
The government has made an allocation of about Tk 96 crore for the project while the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Netherlands government are providing the remaining amount to implement the important project.
The Ministry of Water Resources, the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, the Land Ministry, the Ministry of Environment and Forests and the Agriculture Ministry are involved in the project, launched in January 2011.
Engr Shamsuddoha said although the project is scheduled to be completed by December 2016, its period is expected to be extended by another one year. About the project’s objectives, he said the overall objective of the project is to reduce poverty and hunger for the poor living in newly emerged chars by improving their livelihood.
The security of these people and their livelihood will be provided through climate resilient infrastructures and by providing the poor households with ‘legal title to land’, he added.
Under the project, the BWDB as a lead agency will build 17.5 kilometers of sea dyke (embankment), 23.5 kilometers of interior dyke and 13 kilometers of dwarf embankment. It will also set up six drainage sluices and 13 enclosures and excavate 544 kilometers of khal (canal).
The Local Government and Engineering Department (LGED) will construct 60 cyclone shelters, 160 kilometers of rural roads, 25 bridges, 18 box-culverts and 70 pipe culverts, nine markets, two cluster villages and nine ghats and other infrastructures aiming to make the project area suitable for living.
The Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) will install about 1,500 deep tube-wells, 26,735 single pit latrines, 17 test tube-wells and 36 ponds with sand filters. It will also introduce 15 rainwater harvesting schemes.
The Land Ministry will give khas land allotment to the 21,500 landless households. A total of 4,000 hectares of area will be brought under mangrove forest by the Forest Department while 350 hectares under offshore forest so that the residents of the area can cope with extreme climate events, according to project officials.
The Department of Agriculture Extension will demonstrate 360 varieties of high value crops and 720 verities of low value crops in the project area. It will form 90 farmers’ forums to exchange knowledge of agriculture each other.
BWDB data show that some 1,822 hectares of khas land have already been distributed among the landless framers, and 4,500 households rehabilitated under the CDSP-1.
Under the CDSP-2, 4,500 hectares of khas land have been distributed and 6,848 families accommodated, while 8,650 hectares of khas land have been distributed and 6185 families rehabilitated under the CDSP-3.
The government will rehabilitate some 21,500 landless families in four newly emerged chars (shoals) in the Bay of Bengal near the coasts of Noakhali and Chittagong districts.
A total of 33,400 acres of khas land will be distributed among the families under Char Development and Settlement Project-4 (CDSP-4) of the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB), project coordination director Engr M Shamsuddoha told UNB.
Five ministries are jointly implementing the Tk 579-crore project at Nangoliar Char, Nalerchar and Char Ziauddin of Noakhali and Urir Char of Chittagong.
The government has made an allocation of about Tk 96 crore for the project while the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Netherlands government are providing the remaining amount to implement the important project.
The Ministry of Water Resources, the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, the Land Ministry, the Ministry of Environment and Forests and the Agriculture Ministry are involved in the project, launched in January 2011.
Engr Shamsuddoha said although the project is scheduled to be completed by December 2016, its period is expected to be extended by another one year. About the project’s objectives, he said the overall objective of the project is to reduce poverty and hunger for the poor living in newly emerged chars by improving their livelihood.
The security of these people and their livelihood will be provided through climate resilient infrastructures and by providing the poor households with ‘legal title to land’, he added.
Under the project, the BWDB as a lead agency will build 17.5 kilometers of sea dyke (embankment), 23.5 kilometers of interior dyke and 13 kilometers of dwarf embankment. It will also set up six drainage sluices and 13 enclosures and excavate 544 kilometers of khal (canal).
The Local Government and Engineering Department (LGED) will construct 60 cyclone shelters, 160 kilometers of rural roads, 25 bridges, 18 box-culverts and 70 pipe culverts, nine markets, two cluster villages and nine ghats and other infrastructures aiming to make the project area suitable for living.
The Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) will install about 1,500 deep tube-wells, 26,735 single pit latrines, 17 test tube-wells and 36 ponds with sand filters. It will also introduce 15 rainwater harvesting schemes.
The Land Ministry will give khas land allotment to the 21,500 landless households. A total of 4,000 hectares of area will be brought under mangrove forest by the Forest Department while 350 hectares under offshore forest so that the residents of the area can cope with extreme climate events, according to project officials.
The Department of Agriculture Extension will demonstrate 360 varieties of high value crops and 720 verities of low value crops in the project area. It will form 90 farmers’ forums to exchange knowledge of agriculture each other.
BWDB data show that some 1,822 hectares of khas land have already been distributed among the landless framers, and 4,500 households rehabilitated under the CDSP-1.
Under the CDSP-2, 4,500 hectares of khas land have been distributed and 6,848 families accommodated, while 8,650 hectares of khas land have been distributed and 6185 families rehabilitated under the CDSP-3.
