Baraipara canal excavation: Cost rises five times in 8 years, yet progress only 6%,

Infographic: TBS

A project on excavating a new canal from Bahaddarhat's Baraipara to the River Karnaphuli has seen an almost five-time cost escalation in eight years. In contrast, it has made only 6% in terms of progress, mainly thanks to fund crunches and complexities over land acquisition.

To mitigate perennial waterlogging in Chattogram, the government in 2014 took up the project involving a little over Tk289 crore with a two-year deadline to finish the job. Some 75% of the project cost was supposed to come from the government exchequer, while the remaining 25% would be spent from the Chattogram City Corporation's own fund, as the project implementation body. 

A 2.9km long and 65-feet wide canal will be constructed. There will be a 200 feet width of road and pavement with a width of six feet on the two sides of the canal, according to the Chattogram city corporation. 

But the canal excavation work got stuck for around five years mainly because as per new land acquisition rules, compensation went up by three times. 

In November 2018, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council gave approval to the revised project's cost hike to Tk1,256 crore and time extension to June 2020. Yet the project has seen no physical progress.  

Again, in April 2022, the project cost further escalated to more than Tk1,362 crore with a new implementation deadline set for June 2024. 

In this way, the project saw its cost rise by nearly five times over the years as mouza rates increased alongside a three-time hike in compensation, say people knowledgeable about the project. 

Only 10 out of 25 acres of land have so far been acquired, they note.

The Drainage Master Plan, formulated by Chattogram Development Authority in 1995, recommended excavating the Baraipara canal, but the recommendation has not been implemented in the last 27 years. As a result, residents of the port city's Bahaddarhat, Chandgaon and Baklia areas continue to suffer from waterlogging during the monsoon.

Delwar Majumdar, former chairman of IEB Chittagong Centre and convenor of Forum for Planned Chittagong, told The Business Standard that during a feasibility study, the authorities are supposed to identify obstacles that might come up at any stage of a project's implementation.

He put inefficient management and bureaucratic and legal tangles down to non-implementation of the project.

Mentioning that the project authorities decided to acquire land in five lots one and half years ago, this should have been done much earlier. 

Necessary funds also need to be released regularly for continuation of project work, he also said, adding that help can be sought from the mayor, ministers and the Prime Minister's Office if necessary.

Meanwhile, on 13 August, PM's Principal Secretary Dr Ahmad Kaikaus, at a meeting on progress in the ongoing project in Chattogram division, expressed his frustration over the non-implementation of the canal excavation project that has made only 6% progress in the last eight years.

He suggested appointing a skilled project director from the Road Transport and Highways Division for the project.

Rafiqul Islam, chief engineer of Chattogram City Corporation, told TBS, "We cannot appoint a project director from the Road Transport and Highways Division. We have informed the ministry of the PM's principal secretary's resolution 10 days ago. But we have not received any instructions yet."

Talking to TBS, Project Director Md Farhadul Alam, who is also executive engineer of Chattogram City Corporation, claimed that the Baraipara canal excavation project has made 25-30% progress. 

"The district administration is allotting us land in five lots. We received 6.96 acres on 21 September last year and 3.78 acres on 24 November," he said.

It is not possible to work on all 10 acres at a time. Work on retaining walls, drains and others has been going on, he added.

Some 40% of people have not received compensation for their land acquired by the administration because of legal disputes, he noted.

Chattogram Additional Deputy Commissioner Madus Kamal told TBS, "We have continued compensation payments. But there are some cases going on regarding land ownership. Compensation will be paid after these complications are resolved."