Government to build houses for 30,000 freedom fighters
The cost of building a house has been estimated as Tk13,43,618 and the project is scheduled to be completed in October 2023
On the occasion of the golden jubilee of independence and the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the government is going to build one-storey houses for 30,000 indigent freedom fighters scattered across the country.
Named as Bir Nibas, the 635-square-foot-houses, with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a dining room and a kitchen will be built for needy freedom fighters on their family homesteads.
The government approved a project worth Tk4,123 crore at the National Economic Council (Ecnec) meeting on Tuesday.
This project is an initiative of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to uplift the socio-economic status of poverty-stricken freedom fighters, widows and children of late heroic freedom fighters, said Planning Secretary Mohammad Jainul Bari while briefing the reporters on the projects approved at the meeting.
The cost of building a house has been estimated as Tk13,43,618 and the project is scheduled to be completed in October 2023.
Md Mamun-al-Rashid, member of the Physical Infrastructure Division under the Planning Commission, said 14,000 indigent freedom fighter families have already been identified and the process of remaining 16,000 will be completed soon.
He added that the implementation of the project across the country will escalate the overall sales of various construction material. The prime minister hopes that the economy will boost.
The planning secretary said the prime minister urged all concerned to implement all development projects within the stipulated time maintaining quality.
According to the Planning Commission, a project was approved by the Ecnec on 8 March 2018 to construct multi-storey buildings for the freedom fighters at the upazila level. Under the project, 8,000 flats were to be constructed in 532 buildings across the country at Tk2,273 crore.
However, the project was withdrawn in February 2019 due to the reluctance of the freedom fighters to move into flats leaving their family homesteads.
Five projects worth Tk5,619 crore have been approved at the Ecnec meeting including this project.
The approved projects are Construction of News 132/33 KV and 33/11 KV Substation under DPDC, Protection of the right bank of the Padma at Jajira and Naria (revised), Development of rural infrastructure in Pirojpur, and road widening project from Rajshahi Kalpana Cinema intersection to Talaimari intersection.