News Title : Tarana unhappy over poor ADP project performance

News Date : 2015-11-30

-Shamim Jahangir
State Minister for Posts and Telecommunications Tarana Halim Sunday expressed her resentment over poor performance on state-owned cell phone company Taletalk, BTCL and Postal Department on implementation of projects Annual Development Programme (ADP) till August, 2015. The posts and telecommunications ministry implements 13 projects including four BTCL projects, five postal department projects, two submarine cable company projects and two Teletalk projects with involvement of Tk 1176.32 crore in fiscal year 2015-16. But, only Tk 95.41 crore so far spent 11.40 percent of ADP funds, concerned official said. “I want visible progress on implementing ADP projects…but I am really disappointed as yet to get any visible progress on ADP implementation on Airtel, BTCL and postal department,” she said after attending the ADP review meeting on Sunday. “I asked the postal department to send photography after completing re-construction of 180 post offices across the country,” she said. “Besides, I ordered to the postal department to appoint 20 percent women drive for empowering women in the postal department,” she added. The state minister also said she tried to strengthen state-owned Teletak with additional investment on expansion of 3G and 4G network. “But officials concerned are not interested to capture the opportunity,” the minister thinks. BTCL and Teletalk are also yet to take inter ministerial decision how to work together on optical fiber link. “Performance has to be visible to public, otherwise officials concerned will be reshuffled,” she warned the non-performed employees after attending monthly ADP implementation meeting. The postal department is now implementing three projects including automation of postal department with an estimated cost of Tk 50.59 crore, the re-construction of post offices at Tk 33.17 crore, construction of information technology dependable village post office at Tk 122.96 crore and a post-e-centre for rural community at Tk 540.94 crore.

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