Bangladesh Plans New Tk 19 Billion Poverty Database as Old One Lies Unused
Bangladesh is preparing to spend billions of Taka on a new project. Its goal is to identify rich and poor households. This project will cost an estimated 19.06 billion Bangladeshi Taka. It aims to find poor families for the government’s Family Card program. This new effort comes four years after a similar list was made. That list cost 6.37 billion Taka but was never used.
In 2022, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) created the National Household Database (NHD). This list was meant to help select people for social support programs. However, the NHD has not been used since its creation. Its information has also not been updated.
Now, the Department of Social Services (DSS) plans to create another list. This new database aims to find female heads of poor households. These families will receive benefits from the Family Card program. It will also ensure wealthy families do not get these benefits. The data collection for this project will cost about 6.76 billion Taka. A World Bank loan will fund this work.
Many questions have arisen about this new plan. Experts wonder why a new list is needed when an old one exists. They also question why the DSS is collecting data. The BBS is the government agency legally responsible for surveys in Bangladesh. Officials from BBS said the old NHD could be updated. They believe making a new list is a waste of public money.
Shah Mohammad Mahbub, Director General of the DSS, defended the project. He said their data collection focuses only on female heads of households. He called it a special task. It is different from a general BBS survey. The DSS also plans to produce the Family Cards. This increases the total project cost.
The previous NHD project was approved in 2013. It faced many cost changes. It eventually closed in 2022 without completion. By then, 6.37 billion Taka had already been spent. A government report in 2023 said that project failed. Its collected data could not be used.
The current project has already faced problems. Plans to recruit 67,000 data collectors are delayed. Seven thousand supervisors are also waiting for recruitment. There are also concerns about where the data will be stored. It is unclear how the final list will be prepared. Mustafizur Rahman, an expert from the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said DSS lacks experience. He urged careful work. This will prevent wealthy people from getting aid meant for the poor. He stressed that without a proper database, government funds are often wasted.
The Ministry of Social Welfare asked the BBS for permission for DSS to collect data. The BBS gave conditional permission. It told DSS not to call its work a “census” or “survey.” The BBS will provide technical help to the DSS. This aims to avoid past mistakes. It also ensures accurate data collection this time. The Family Card program is an important promise of the current government. Its proper success depends on an accurate list of those in need.
