Sangsad Bhaban, Mar 10 (UNB)-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wednesday informed parliament of big strides in development as her government just okayed a special recipe to develop rural infrastructure and roads at a cost of Tk 4,691 crore.

The development works will be done under a flagship scheme styled “priority-based important rural infrastructure development project”.

Replying to a tabled question for PM’s question hour from Lutfur Rahman, elected from Cox’s Bazar, the Prime Minister said works under the project will start in the current 2009-10 fiscal year with ECNEC approval.

The executive committee of the national economic council already gave the go-ahead Tuesday. The Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) under the Local Government and Rural Development (LGRD) Ministry is the implementing agency for the massive project.

Hasina further told the lawmakers that Tk 3,556 crore has been allocated in the development budget in the current fiscal for developing infrastructures through the LGED.

Currently, there are 61 projects going on for infrastructure development involving Tk 26,096 crore.

She mentioned that the present government has so far approved 15 projects related to infrastructure development through LGED. The estimated cost of these projects is Tk 3,383 crore.

“Another 34 projects are in the pipeline, involving Tk 22,664, for the development of infrastructures across the country,” the PM told the House.