Dhaka: Bangladesh government will give 10 lakh more primary level students stipend to check dropout rate which will increase the number of total stipend recipient students at primary level to 1.40 crore. 

To this end, the Executive Committee of the National Economic of Council (ECNEC) on Tuesday approved the expansion of the 'Primary Education Stipend Project-3rd phase (1st revised) involving Tk 6,923.06 crore.

The approval was given in the weekly ECNEC meeting held at the NEC conference room with ECNEC Chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.

It also approved 'Countrywide pond and canal development project' involving a total of Tk 1,334.95 crore with a view to preserving surface water through development and re-excavation of ponds and canals.

"A total of nine projects have been approved in today's ECNEC meeting with an overall cost of Tk 10,331.75 crore. The cost of all the projects will come from the national exchequer," State Minister for Finance and Planning MA Mannan told reporters after the meeting.

Of the nine projects, five projects are new while four are revised ones, he said.

Mannan said the tenure of 'Primary Education Stipend Project-3rd phase' has been extended because this programme played a very positive role to check dropout and increase literacy in the country.

The tenure of the implementation of the original project of the 'Primary Education Stipend Project-3rd phase' was from July 2015 to June 2017. It was revised later and extended up to December 2019, he said, adding that the estimated cost of the project has been increased to Tk 6,923.06 crore from Tk 3,067.39 crore. 

Other approved projects are construction of district social welfare complex in 64 district (in the first phase complex will be build in 22 districts) (Tk 329.22 crore), turning Begumganj-Sonapur part of Feni-Noakhali nation highway into 4-lane (Tk 962 crore), turning the Sirajganj city part of Nalka-Sirajganj-Saidabad regional highway into 4-lane and remaining part into 2-lane (Tk 264.26 crore),

Construction of Bangladesh-Myanmar Moitri (Balukhali-Dhundhum) Border Road (Tk 114.95 crore), construction of Kushtia town bypass road (Tk 106.36 crore), construction of East-West road up to Mohanbpur-Rajshahi-Natore road from Rajshahi-Naogaon main road (Tk 182.68 crore) and river erosion protection project for Dhaleshwari river's Gachh-Kumulli, Barpakhia and Babupur-Lauhati under Nagpur upazila (Tk114.27 crore).