Action against corruption to continue: Agriculture Minister

Agriculture Minister Dr Mohammad Abdur Razzaque said strict action will be taken against those involved in irregularities or corruption in the procurement of development projects.

He made the remark today at an online meeting to review the progress of the implementation of the Annual Development Project (ADP) from the conference room of the ministry.

Addressing the project managers, the Agriculture Minister said, "Strict action will be taken if there are any irregularities or corruption in the formulation and implementation of the project. They will be sacked if it is needed."

The minister said the mechanisation project is a dream project of the agricultural sector. The main goal is to mechanise and modernise agriculture. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina allocated Tk200 crore in the last financial year to improve the agriculture sector.

The meeting revealed that 78 projects were under implementation under the Ministry of Agriculture in the revised ADP for the financial year 2019-20.

The total allocation in favour of these projects was Tk1,764 crore and the expenditure was Tk1,646 crore, which is 94 percent of the total allocation.

Although it is not possible to achieve 100 percent progress due to the coronavirus situation, the progress of the Ministry of Agriculture has been more than the national average progress (80.28 percent).