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BNP deputies demand pro-polls budget

Rally for special allocations; Saifur entertains proposal to put MPs on tax collection bodies

STAFF CORRESPONDENT
While the country's leading economists warned Finance and Planning Minister M Saifur Rahman of dire pitfalls of an election-oriented budget for the next fiscal year, ruling party lawmakers yesterday requested him for special budgetary allocations targeting the next general election.
Side by side, the BNP MPs proposed to involve themselves with the tax collection machinery at
district and upazila levels to ensure better tax revenues. Saifur agreed to the proposal and directed the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to take the necessary steps.
The treasury bench members also suggested that the government consider forming taskforces led by parliamentarians at district level to fight corruption, as bureaucrats have failed to check it.
Outcome of the next Jatiya Sangsad (JS) election depends on the budget, Chairman of
Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health Ministry Mashiur Rahman observed at the pre-budget meeting of JS standing committee chairs with the finance minister.
Meeting sources quoted Mashiur as suggesting that Saifur should consider increasing the number of recipients of senior citizens' and widows' allowances.
"The BNP MPs requested Saifur Rahman to allocate more than Tk one crore against each of their con
SEE PAGE 15 COL 7 FROM PAGE 1 stituencies," Mohmammad Saidul Haq, the lone Awami League parliamentarian participating in the meeting, told the press. "The finance minister seemed to consider the proposal," he added.
Saifur on the other hand told the press soon after the meeting, "The MPs have one line of thinking and I have a different line. As the finance minister I have to take policy decisions for a sound monetary management. I cannot sacrifice ...sound monetary management [for temporary political gains]."
About involving MPs in tax collection Saifur said, "The MPs all agree that if tax collection is not increased the development process will be stalled. They suggested forming committees, which would include them, so that they can help improve the situation."
Chairman of JS Standing Committee on Forest and Environment Ministry Nazimuddin Alam remarked, "The election is ahead. We need to bring the prices of essentials down or face consequences in the election." He also expressed the opinion that "there should be more subsidy for the agriculture sector and more allocations for road constructions."
"Due to corruption," Alam observed, "the tender process for any development work always slows down. This should be taken care of to ensure speedy implementation of projects."
Chairman of JS Standing Committee on Planning Commission Akbar Ali said, "About 40 percent of the government expenditure is wasted. Such wastage is especially rampant in the education sector."
"For example, in a union there are 12 madrasas where the number of teachers exceed the number of students. We have also seen a madrasa where there are only 10 to 12 students; and again most of them cannot even pass the exams," he added.
The chairman of the committee on establishment ministry, Shakhawat Hossain Bokul, quipped, "If stringent measures are not taken against corruption, the government policy on poverty reduction will not be successful. That's why the MPs are needed to be involved in the anti-corruption activities."
GM Siraj, chairman of the com-
mittee on shipping ministry, said, "The government should consider extending the opportunity for whitening black money, continuing tax holiday and lowering of interest rates."
But the suggestion did not meet with positive response from the finance minister, meeting sources said. Saifur rather asked Siraj to refrain from speaking like a businessman.
Meeting sources quoted Saifur as telling the meeting that the deputies from rural constituencies want higher prices of farm produces while those from urban areas want lower prices of the same. He said it is hard to make a balance between these two opposite demands.
Talking to newsmen, Awami League lawmaker Saidul Haq said, "We have asked the minister to take steps to control the price hike and inflation. People are suffering immensely. But the minister seemed to be of the opinion that unless prices of their produces are high the farmers will not get just return of their investments."
He said the BNP lawmakers in the meeting also alleged that development allocations are not being equally distributed among the constituencies. In some areas, the government allocated as much as 90,000 metric tons of wheat under the Food for Work programme, while in some areas there was no allocation at all.
Haq also reported that Saifur blamed Awami League for launching an international campaign to tarnish Bangladesh's image. "In reply, I told him, if you do constructive work, you can prove our allegations baseless to the international community."
Haq, member of a JS standing committee, was invited to the meeting along with the members of four other committees.