BNP unveils special plans in 8 sectors, including family card, farmer card

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has drawn up eight sector-based plans aimed at structural reform of state governance, restoration of democracy, and addressing fundamental crises in people’s lives.

The sectors include: family card, farmer card, health, education, employment and skills, sports, environment and climate resilience, and dignity and welfare of religious leaders.

The plans were presented by the BNP on Tuesday afternoon at a hotel in the capital before diplomats and development partners from various countries.

BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir attended the event as the chief guest, titled “BNP Policy Dissemination on Priority Social Policies.”

According to the BNP, a total of 30 representatives from different embassies participated in the programme. Among them were the Chinese ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen, the Malaysian high commissioner, and representatives from the United States, the United Kingdom, India, Pakistan, Russia, the European Union, Iran and Bahrain.

The keynote paper at the event was presented by Ziauddin Haider, an adviser to the BNP chairman.

The paper stated that within the framework of the BNP’s previously announced 31-point reform agenda for rebuilding the state, the party’s “The Plan,” under the leadership of Tarique Rahman, has identified these eight social priorities as being directly linked to the lives of ordinary people. The paper described this as a different kind of politics.

Regarding the sector-based plans, the paper said that under the family card programme, each family would receive monthly cash assistance of Tk 2,000 to Tk 2,500 or essential food items. The card would be issued in the name of an adult woman in the household.

Through the proposed farmer card, farmers would be ensured fair prices for fertiliser, seeds and pesticides. The scheme would also include incentives, easy-term loans and insurance coverage. Crop and livestock insurance would be incorporated to address climate risks, disease and market volatility.

In the health sector, the BNP has pledged to recruit 100,000 new health workers, 80 per cent of whom would be women. They would go door to door to assess common health conditions. The party promised to deliver preventive and primary healthcare at citizens’ doorsteps in both rural and urban areas. 

It also pledged 24-hour free medicines at primary health centres, low-cost treatment for major diseases, expansion of maternity services at upazila-level hospitals, and year-round mosquito control programmes.

In education, the BNP plans to establish multimedia classrooms, introduce a “Learning with Happiness” curriculum from class-VI, and make technical education mandatory.

In the employment sector, the party proposed free internet access in educational institutions and short-term training programmes to develop foreign language proficiency and skills.

In sports, the plans include establishing sports as a profession, making physical education compulsory from class-IV, providing scholarships to talented students aged 12–14 through a “Notun Kuri Sports” initiative, building sports villages with indoor facilities in all 64 districts, appointing upazila-level sports officers, setting up branches of BKSP (Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishthan) in every division, expanding playgrounds, and developing a sports equipment industry.

In the environment sector, the BNP proposed dredging or re-dredging of 20,000 kilometres of rivers and canals, implementation of the Teesta and Padma barrage projects, plantation of 2.5 billion trees over five years, integrated waste management nationwide, and production of fuel and organic fertiliser from waste.

For the welfare of religious leaders, the plans include monthly honorariums, festival allowances, skills development training, expansion of mosque-based education programmes, strengthening the Imam-Muazzin Welfare Trust, and similar facilities for the heads of places of worship of other religions.

Speaking as the chief guest, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said that today’s challenges are multidimensional. He said the BNP has already formulated policies capable of transforming a collapsed economy into a stable one. These policies would pave the way for sustainable development and give low-income people the strength to recover, ushering in a new era of hope.

Mirza Fakhrul also said that the BNP’s policies would ensure broader participation of the population in the process of economic development.

He noted that the economy would be inclusive, participatory and expansive. The BNP, he said, is committed to building a society based on democratic values and culture, where parliament will be the centre of all decision-making.

BNP joint secretary general Humayun Kabir delivered the opening remarks at the event. Others present included BNP chairperson’s adviser Mahdi Amin, special assistant to the foreign affairs advisory committee Saimum Parvez, international affairs secretary Rashedul Haque, among others.