Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives State Minister Mir Shahe Alam has instructed upazila administrations to allocate 10 to 15 percent of revenue collected from haats and bazaars for installing solar panels. He also urged government officials to take initiatives to install solar panels at their own residences.

He made the remarks while addressing a review meeting on “Solar Power, Dengue Prevention and Development Programmes” as the chief guest at the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) in Agargaon, Dhaka, on Saturday afternoon.

The state minister also shared his experience of witnessing large-scale solar power generation during his recent visit to China, stressing the need to expand the use of renewable energy in Bangladesh.

He instructed all upazila executive engineers to remain proactive in road development and maintenance, expansion of renewable energy and transparent implementation of development programmes.

Mir Shahe Alam said around 6,000 kilometres of roads have so far been paved across the country. However, many roads still require widening, reconstruction and long-term maintenance. He urged the concerned officials to submit proposals for road widening, reconstruction and major maintenance projects.

He said the prime minister had recently approved a project for maintaining nearly 5,000 kilometres of rural roads. Once maintenance project proposals are submitted from across the country, funds will be allocated from the main budget, allowing upazila executive engineers to meet the necessary expenses.

The state minister said roads generally require 72 hours to become fully firm after carpeting. During this period, he instructed contractors to deploy two security guards, one for the day and another for the night, to protect the roads. He also urged upazila engineers to perform their responsibilities diligently in this regard.

He further said that, in accordance with a government decision and Cabinet approval, the fiscal year will run from April 1 to March 31 starting in 2028. This will create greater opportunities to implement development projects during the extended dry season from August-September through March, he added.

The state minister also said a constitutional amendment committee in parliament is working to incorporate the issues signed in the July Charter into the Constitution. Matters including the interim government system, a bicameral parliament and balancing the powers of the president and prime minister are being considered by the committee, he said.

At the end of the discussion, Mir Shahe Alam said evaluation-based discussions would be held with upazila executive engineers in the future as necessary.

Mo. Shahidul Hasan attended the meeting as a special guest, while LGED Chief Engineer Mo. Belal Hossain chaired it. Senior officials from different levels of the department and ministry were also present.