Staff Correspondent

Planning Adviser Dr. Wahiduddin Mahmud has said that many project directors have resigned or vanished following the change in government. Speaking at a press briefing on Monday after an ECNEC meeting held at the NEC Auditorium, Dr. Wahiduddin linked the sudden departures to potential mismanagement and embezzlement of state resources.

“They left after the change in government. Surely, they were involved in massive corruption, and for that reason, they fled,” the adviser remarked, adding urgency to the interim administration's efforts to regain control of ongoing projects.

The ECNEC meeting was chaired by Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus.

Dr. Wahiduddin cited a glaring example: the director of the Matarbari Project, who disappeared after allegedly selling off government property. For ongoing projects, the interim government has no choice but to appoint new directors; this process requires extra time, delaying progress, he explained.

The Planning Adviser emphasized that many of these resignations were rooted in personal corruption. Responding to reporters’ questions, he said, “These project directors fled due to their own misdeeds. There is no other connection.”

The interim government is scrutinizing new appointments to prevent a recurrence of such issues. Dr. Wahiduddin expressed confidence that newly appointed project directors would act responsibly, even under future governments. “We are appointing project directors after careful vetting. I believe our appointees will not flee in the next elected government’s term,” he said.

The adviser revealed that the government is resizing the development budget to align with current priorities. Projects initiated by the previous Awami League government have come under scrutiny, with several being scrapped due to alleged political motivations.

“Many of those projects were politically driven, and we did not believe they would yield positive results,” he said, defending the interim government’s decision to axe them.

He also stressed that corruption-free implementation requires ministries to take full accountability for projects until their completion.

Dr. Wahiduddin noted that some ministries are yet to achieve a stable footing. “As a result, preparing new projects has not started,” he observed.