The Planning Unit of LGED delivers a wide range of activities to achieve the organizational goals which are derived from the overall vision and mission of the organization. Headed by a Superintending Engineer (Planning), a team is assigned to work dedicatedly in the unit to support the overall planning functions of LGED.
The functional hierarchy of Planning Unit is as follows:
In line with the functional mandate of LGED, the three broad sub-sectors namely rural development, small scale water resources development, and urban management, the formulation and approval of development projects/programs are coordinated and facilitated by the Planning Unit.
The key planning guidelines, policies and strategies which the planning unit follows are:
• Rural Development Strategy 1984
• Rural Infrastructure Strategy Study 1996
• National Rural Development Policy 2001
• National Land Transport Policy 2004
• Rural Road and Bridge Maintenance Policy 2013
• Urban Management Policy Statement 1999
• National Water Policy 1999
• Perspective Plan (2010-21)
• Five Years Plan
• Bangladesh Delta Plan- 2100
• Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
The main objectives of all those policies are to achieve higher economic growth, increase productivity, poverty reduction and social development. LGED also follows the international conventions and treaties in which Bangladesh is a signatory of those, e.g. Millennium Development Goals (MDG), Sustainable Development Goals, or climate and environment related regional or international conventions.
Road Classification and Design Standards 2005 of the Planning Commission are also followed during project preparation.
Rural Road Master Plan, Road and Structure Database, Schedules of Rates, Municipal Master Plans, and GIS Maps are also important in-house tools developed by LGED for undertaking the planning activities. Rural road master plan describes the priority of roads and a framework of implementation phases. The roads and structure database contains a detailed segment wise information covering the physical condition and development history. GIS database provides the advantages of geo-spatial analysis and mapped representation of planning and monitoring outputs.
Generally, three types of project/programs are developed: Investment, Technical Assistance (TA), and Surveys/Studies. Besides, in order to search for development partners’ Preliminary Development Project Proposals (PDPP) are also prepared.
LGED is a decentralised organisation and works closely with local government institutions, local people and public representatives to address their needs in infrastructure development planning. So bottom up planning with participatory approach is considered as central focus of LGED’s infrastructure planning.
