To facilitate the sellers, farmers and buyers of rural areas, in 2017, the government had taken the initiative to construct 507 permanent structures at the village markets of all upazilas in 64 districts across Bangladesh.
The Tk 1,730-crore project was undertaken by the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives and the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) started the implementation.
The project was supposed to be completed by June 2020. But only 47 per cent of work has been completed after the deadline was extended three times until June 2025.
Moreover, the authorities have dropped 77 markets from the list citing different reasons. The estimated cost too has been slashed down to Tk 1,691 crore.
A government in-depth monitoring report, however, has found that the 2025 deadline will not be achievable too if the physical work continues at the current pace.
The Planning Ministry’s Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED), which prepared the report, said that after six years, the physical progress of the project is only 47 per cent and it is frustrating.
Of the completed 87 markets, only 28 have been handed over to the authorities concerned. Construction works of 191 markets are still ongoing. The markets that were handed over, however, could not be formally inaugurated due to the absence of a policy to lease out the space.
IMED gathered information on 98 sites for its monitoring report and found some problems in the construction, such as the use of substandard materials at several places, although the architectural design and outlooks looked fine.
Why the delays?
According to the original development project proposal (DPP), the project was supposed to finish by June 2020 at the cost of Tk 1,730 crore. The deadline was later extended to June 2021 without cost acceleration. The DPP was amended first in 2021, cutting the cost by 2.25 per cent and extending the deadline to June 2022.
As the authorities failed to meet the new deadline, it was again extended to 2025. So far, the project has received 60 additional months and the authorities had cited different reasons for seeking such extensions.
They said that there were already makeshift establishments at 110 sites and permanent establishments at 35 sites, which could not be removed easily due to different complications. Also, legal battles are ongoing among parties over around 80 sites and they need to be resolved first before evacuating the places and starting the construction works.
Authorities claimed that they delayed starting constructions at some upazilas as the local district administrations did not provide clearance on time. At least 13 sites were dropped from the list as there were no adequate spaces.
They said that due to the difference in the condition of lands and their sizes, they needed to prepare separate designs for buildings and that consumed time as well.
Project authorities said they had to drop 77 markets from the project list due to the land and legal problems and the need to choose new spots to build the markets.
Swapan Kanti Paul, project director of the Countrywide Rural Market Infrastructure Development Project, acknowledged the delays and said that the contractors have so far handed over 28 markets to them. But the markets’ shops could not be allocated to the farmers and businesses as no market management policy has been created yet.
“Parliament passed the Hat and Bazaar (Establishment and Management) Act 2023 in February. The Land Ministry is working on the law to prepare relevant rules,” he said.
IMED said that they have found a lack of coordination between LGED and the district administrations on getting approval for the project site, handing over land to the contractors and handing over the market after completion also played a role in delaying the project implementation.
Construction quality
In the report, IMED said that it found the work quality satisfactory during field visits. The designs of the buildings were modern and eye-catching. But they found faults in construction and the use of substandard materials and equipment in some cases. In some other cases, there were inconsistencies between the approved design and the size of the buildings.
Some markets have been constructed far from the previous makeshift market’s spot and there was no usable road to go there. Some newly constructed markets do not have proper drainage systems as well, said the report.
For example, the Shahjalal Bazar building in Sylhet Sadar had cracks. The ground floor of the Rampura Bazar building in Cumilla’s Meghna Upazila was not properly cured and there were cracks in the concrete.
A market in Bhola’s Charfasion Upazila, which was handed over in July 2021, also had cracks on the floor and exposed bricks due to loosened plaster. The washroom door and basins were already unusable. At the market in Lalmohon Upazila, the tiles fitting were not up-to-the-mark.
The plaster finishing on the ground floor was not okay at a market in Bogura’s Dhupchanchia Upazila.
In some projects, IMED found that low-quality electric wiring and pipes were used to minimise cost.
