State Minister for Land and Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Affairs Mir Mohammad Helal Uddin has emphasised that relief for flood-affected communities must be delivered through coordinated efforts.
He said, "The efforts would succeed by involving all government and non-government organisations, rather than relying on isolated initiatives."
He made the remarks while addressing a review and coordination meeting on the post-flood situation at the conference room of the local deputy commissioner's office here last night as the chief guest.
The state minister said, "The clear directive of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is that all stakeholders must work together in a coordinated manner, ensuring that public service initiatives are people-centred and reach those most in need.”
The meeting brought together the senior officials from various government agencies in the CHT region to assess the overall flood situation and discuss the necessary course of action.
Saching Pru, MP, and Adv. Madhabi Marma, MP, attended the meeting with Md Saniul Ferdous, Deputy Commissioner of Bandarban in the chair.
Besides, representatives from the hill districts and senior officials from different government departments also attended the meeting, among others.
Addressing the officials, the State Minister instructed them not to undertake fragmented or independent relief activities. He stressed that uncoordinated efforts often compromise the quality and effectiveness of public services.
“This is not the time to compete over who has done more or which organisation has contributed the most,” he said.
“Our foremost responsibility is to ensure a unified and coordinated response involving government agencies, non-government organisations and all other stakeholders,” he added.
Highlighting the importance of sustainable development in the CHT, Mir Helal observed that the three Hill District Councils, the CHT Development Board and other agencies are currently implementing numerous small-scale projects.
He noted that managing a large number of fragmented projects makes it difficult to achieve the meaningful and lasting outcomes.
He called for replacing short-term and small-scale initiatives with long-term, sustainable development projects.
Hela also underscored the need to prevent any waste of national resources and public funds and urged the officials to maintain close coordination and eliminate communication gaps among the implementing agencies.
He further emphasised the effective utilisation of development funds allocated by the ministry.
The State Minister stated that returning unspent government allocations to the national treasury should not be regarded as an achievement, as doing so delays development activities and deprives local communities of their intended benefits.
He directed the concerned departments to ensure timely implementation of projects, prevent misuse or wastage of allocated funds and strengthen coordination to maximise public benefit.
During the meeting, representatives from various government and non-government organisations presented detailed assessments of the extent of damage caused by the recent floods in Bandarban, reviewed the current flood situation and discussed priority measures for relief, recovery and rehabilitation.
Participants also emphasised the need to accelerate rehabilitation efforts for affected communities.
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