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5-year ban proposed on creation of new municipality

UNB, Dhaka
The Public Expenditures Review Commission (PERC) has suggested a five-year moratorium on formation of any new pourasava (municipality) and merger of the Textile and Jute Ministries with the Industries Ministry.
The PERC in its second interim report submitted to Finance Minister M Saifur Rahman yesterday also recommended that a single corpo-
ration should replace the existing five corporations that manage state-owned enterprises (SoE) in different sectors.
The single corporation, according to the report, will cover industries now under different corporations in jute, steel, chemical, food and sugar, and forest sectors.
PERC chairman Hafizuddin Khan and member Abbasuddin Khan who jointly briefed journalists said one corporation instead of five
would save the public exchequer.
Since 223 out of 330 SoEs have been closed down and only 107 are now in production, the size of management and head offices of the corporations should also be cut down, their report suggested.
The PERC interim report described each of the enterprise boards of the five corporations as superficial and said they have become practically irrelevant.
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It found that the country's 100 out of 252 pourasavas do not fulfil the requirement of the existing laws. As a result, people do not receive proper services.
The PERC suggested withholding formation of any new pourasava in next five years. Thereafter, each municipality formed must satisfy the proper criteria.
As municipalities always depend on the government, the sevenmember PERC suggested increasing their own revenue through taxes. It suggested that no government allocation should be made for pourasavas that are unable to generate at least 75 per cent of their expenditure from its own resources of revenue.
The report suggested that the railway sector has remained neglected so far and should receive increased investment on a priority basis. It stressed the need to open a direct rail link from Dhaka over the Jamuna Bridge and dual rail-tracks on Dhaka-Chittagong route on a priority basis, and to increase line rolling stock and line capacity.
It also emphasised that an early decision should be made on monorail as an important urban transport.
Responding to the PERC report, Finance Minister M Saifur Rahman said he already announced that the railway sector would get priority in
the next budget alongside power sector.
The minister also told the PERC members that he would try to reflect the Commission's views in the budget and mentioned that they have already been reflected in the revised ADP.
The minister also extended the Commission's tenure by six months to enable it to submit its final report by December.
The PERC that started work last July had submitted its first interim report in December last year emphasising that the ADP allocation should be made on the basis of high-low priorities.