The government today approved a proposal in principle for procuring three jeeps, 100 patrol pickup vehicles and 60 microbuses in the current fiscal year (FY26) through Direct Procurement Method (DPM) instead of the Open Tender Method (OTM) to enhance the operational capacity of RAB.

The approval came from the 3rd meeting of the Advisers Council Committee on Economic Affairs in this year held today with Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed in the chair at the Cabinet Division Conference Room at Bangladesh Secretariat.

Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan briefed reporters after the meeting.

The proposal for procuring such vehicles was approved under the project titled “Enhancement of Operational Capacity of RAB Forces (1st Revised)”. 

The day’s Economic Affairs Committee meeting approved another proposal in principle to withdraw the project titled “Construction of Multimodal Hub at Dhaka Bimanbandar Railway Station” from the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project list.

The proposal was placed by the Ministry of Railways. Following detailed discussions, the committee recommended the proposal for approval in principle.

The Power and Energy Adviser said there were a total of five agenda items in the meeting. Among them, one proposal came from the Ministry of Agriculture, one from the Ministry of Home Affairs, one from the Energy and Mineral Resources Division, and two proposals from the Ministry of Railways.

He said the first proposal was related to providing regular subsidies to farmers affected by damage to potato cultivation. “The proposal has been sent back for further examination to ensure that the subsidy reaches genuine farmers through an appropriate mechanism,”

The next proposal was from the Ministry of Home Affairs regarding the procurement of vehicles for the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), including 3 jeeps, 100 petrol pickups and 60 microbuses.

“Instead of procuring these through the OTM method, the committee approved direct procurement from the state-owned automobile manufacturer Pragati Industries Limited,” he added.