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Finance ministry voices concern over expenditure

Rejaul Karim Byron
The finance ministry' has voiced concerns about the expenditure of fiscal 2013-14's block allocation, an amount set aside in the budget for unforeseen events, in just the first quarter alone.
The issue was brought to the fore on Tuesday at a meeting on budget implementation, attended by officials of the large ministries and chaired by Finance Minister AMA Muhith.
Of the block allocation of Tk 1,299 crore, Tk 680 crore was spent on subsidy, Tk 246 crore on Rooppur Nuclear project and Tk 300 crore as allowance to freedom fighters, between the months of July and September.
Should any unforeseen event crop up between now and the end of the fiscal year, development expenditure would have to be slashed, which is "never good for a country", an official of the finance division present at the
meeting, told The Daily Star.
Moreover, as a result the implementation of 20 percent dearness allowance for public servants, announced by the government in November, would be tricky, as the government was hoping to use the block allocation to cover it.
"Now, the funds would have to be diverted from elsewhere," he added.
The finance division officials also expressed concerns over some other spending that took place during the first quarter.
For instance, two of the ministries were unable to use up their allocations for fiscal 2012-13. As per budgetary terms and condition, the unutilised amounts were supposed to have been returned to the finance division at the end of the fiscal year, but that never happened.
Instead, the ministries transferred the sums to another account and have been using them this fiscal year. 'This is a gross irregularity," the official said.
The finance division officials also questioned the vast sums of subsidy given to quick rental power plants, which accounted for more than 90 percent of the Tk 1,509 crore energy subsidy handed out in the first quarter.
Also discussed at the meeting was the comparatively higher expenditure on nondevelopment activities in the first two months of the fiscal year. Between July and August, Tk 14,090 crore was spent in contrast to Tk 12,284 crore a year ago.
Conversely, development expenditure dropped 10.09 percent year-on-year to Tk 4,081 crore during the period. It stood at Tk 6,994 crore during the whole quarter, down 0.24 percent year-on-year.
Muhith blamed the drop on planning ministry officials, as they "obstruct approval and implementation of the projects in the Annual Development Programme".