List for Cash Aid TIB, citizens for inquiry, government says ‘no’

No investigation would be carried out to identify any possible corruption even after unearthing repetitions of 8,00,000 mobile numbers on the list of 50,00,000 hardcore poor by the prime minister’s office on Thursday.

The information and communication technology division secretary NM Zeaul Alam told New Age on Sunday that the division was convinced that the officials of the union digital centres and ward digital centres, under the division, had no ill motive of doing corruption while developing the list.

‘Actually, it was their habit of giving input of any mobile number against names of the beneficiaries who do not have any mobile number,’ Zeaul said.

‘All the repeated mobile numbers had already been dropped and the officials were instructed to give numbers of the beneficiaries or their relatives,’ he said adding that otherwise the money would not be transferred.

‘The explanation is too naive and defensive to be tenable’, commented Transparency International Bangladesh executive director Iftekharuzzaman.

‘Even if a section of the rural people and ultra-poor do not have mobile phones, they are smart and conscious enough not to delegate their right to receive the cash support to others, not least to the kind of vested groups of unscrupulous elements who have been reportedly involved in the manipulation,’ Iiftkhar said.

The repetition of the mobile number on the database was unearthed while transferring Tk 2,500 to each of the 50 lakh hardcore poor families from PMO through mobile banking beginning from Thursday, state minister for disaster management Md Enamur Rahman said.

Earlier on May 11, the PMO ordered the disaster management ministry and ICT ministry to crosscheck the database of 1.25 crore beneficiaries developed by them in April for distributing relief transparently.

Instructed by the prime minister, Enamur said that the database project was initiated after getting complaints from people that they did not get relief while law enforcers arrested people for alleged irregularities in distribution of the relief.

So far, 55 representatives of the local government bodies, including 20 UP chairmen and 33 members, had been suspended by the local government division for their alleged corruption in the relief distribution process.

The database, however, was made within two weeks and many poor families in Dhaka told New Age that they were not aware of any such database and some alleged that a few councillors even demanded bribe for inclusion of names.

‘Most families included in the database were under Vulnerable Group Feeding and Vulnerable Group Development programmes while new beneficiaries were included by union digital centres and ward digital centres under the city corporation areas following recommendations from the local government representatives and local Awami League leaders,’ Enamur said.

The eminent citizens however demanded verification of all beneficiaries for proper distribution of public money to the genuinely needy people.

They also demanded punishment of the officials and representatives of the local government bodies for making such a faulty database.

‘Those responsible for the reputational damage caused to the lofty purpose of the commendable initiative of the government must be brought to account,’ Iftekhar said.

For avoiding any controversy, Dhaka University emeritus professor Serajul Islam Choudhury suggested that relief should be distributed after forming union-level committees in which people from all major political parties would be included.

Dhaka University retired professor Abul Kashem Fazlul Haque said that it was time to put a stop to the evil trend of misappropriating relief by the ruling party men.

Former caretaker government adviser M Hafizuddin Khan said, ‘Misappropriation of relief became an evil trend in Bangladesh. It must come to an end through proper investigation and by ensuring exemplary punishment.’

Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal-Jasod president Hasanul Huq Inu and general secretary Shirin Akhter in a joint statement urged the government to publish the list of 50 lakh beneficiaries and arrest and punish the people involved in preparing the fake list.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net