BANGLADESH

WORKING
GROUP ON IFIS

CAN YOU REACH THEM

WHO KNOW ONLY
BENGALI LANGUAGE?
HASAN MEHEDI
Yokohama, 6 May 2017

The views expressed in these presentations are the views of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Asian Development Bank
(ADB), or its Board of Directors or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the source, originality, accuracy, completeness or reliability of
any statement, information, data, finding, interpretation, advice, opinion, or view presented, nor does it make any representation concerning the same.
CONSULTATION
6th December 2016,
the Bangladesh
Working Group
Members
participated in a
Consultation
Workshop on
Review of ADBs
Public
Communication
Policy.

I am raising the
same points
VALIDATION
We joined in dozens of

meetings,
consultations and
orientations in
Bangladesh organized
by ADB in last one
decade. But we dont
know whether our
opinions have been
adopted in their
policies and practices.
It is a general norm to go back to the stakeholders with the final
products mentioning which opinions has been taken and which cannot
be and why.
LANGUAGE
90% of the Bangladeshi population cannot speak
or read English. Since a decade, we have been
saying to translate project documents in Bengali.
You can find only Project Data Sheets of 26
projects out of 57 on-going projects in Bangladesh.
Those are only Data Sheet, not the whole
information.
This is the situation of voluntary disclosure of
information of ADB in Bangladesh. So, most of the
affected communities even dont know about on-
going or approved projects.
* Some of the strategic documents including Public
Communication Policy (PCP) and Accountability Mechanism
(AM) has been translated in Bengali after a long struggle.
PRIVATE SECTOR
INVESTMENT Access to information on
Private Sector is limited in
the name of Business
Secrecy.
But Right to information
cannot be divided because
the earth, environment,
nature and community is the
concern, not the mode of
investment!
Project Documents doesnt
have Patent. Then how the
Waste water from Summit-Meghnaghat Private Sector project
Combined Cycle Power Plant, Narayanganj
information is classified.?
 PRIVATE SECTOR INVESTMENT
Are you considering Human
Rights Violation or Harming
Environment by Private
Sector is tolerable?
According to Universal
Declaration of Human Rights
(UDHR) Article 19, Access to
Information is a basic human
rights. Are private companies
Media discovered a massive adulteration in
immuned from UDHR? making Mango Juice by Pran Food Company
limited which is awarded by a Private Sector
Project by ADB (Pran Agrobusiness Project)
UNREASONABLE REQUESTS There
is no definition of
Unreasonable Requests in
PCP. So, this phrase can be
used by ADB staffs at any
time without showing any
cause.
Think about a sinking
person who is asking for
help and another person
saying that "this request is
unreasonable".
Nothing can be
Unreasonable
unreasonable for the
Request? affected communities to
save their lives, livelihoods
AIIB : DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
UPGRADE AND EXPANSION PROJECT

Component 2: Upgrading two grid

substations and conversion of 85 km
overhead distribution lines into
underground cables in north Dhaka

It took 1 and a half month to get the

Initial Environmental Examination (IEE)
Time is Report from Bangladesh Power
important! Development Board (BPDB)!
RECOMMENDATIONS
Develop all project documents including EIA in Bengali first, then
translate those in English, so that common people can understand
what are the activities you are going to take under the project.
Report back to the stakeholders through at least a common mail
mentioning their contributions and which opinions has been reflected
in the policies, projects and other documents, and which are not, and
why.
Circulate the project summery in national vernacular newspapers with
a call for opinions so that common people have an opportunity to say
something.
Set up enough billboards, leaflets and other materials with project
information and address of the focal point so that people can
communicate with him/her.