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Safety net outlay likely to go up

Govt plans reforms to reduce waste

Rejaul Karim Byron
The allocation for safety net and welfare schemes may rise 11 percent toTk 13,800 crore in the upcoming budget, the amount being 5.5 percent of the total expenditure, a finance ministry official said.
Allowances for some people such as freedom fighters, working and lactating mothers, insolvent challenged individuals, and widows may see a rise. The number of beneficiaries may also increase in some cases.
The government also plans to bring reforms in the sector to cut waste, in line with prescriptions of development partners.
The allocation for the
safety net and welfare projects was Tk 12,459 crore or 5.6 percent of the total budget in the current fiscal year.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith in a recent meeting with officials of various ministries gave instructions about the changes in relevant areas.
In the next budget, the highest increase may be in the honorarium for freedom fighters, toTk 5,000 per person from Tk 3,000 now. The budgetary allocation for them may double toTk 1,200 crore.
Maternity allowance as well as the
amount of allowance and the number of beneficiaries among the working and lactating mothers would increase. The government through a survey has found 17 lakh beneficiaries in these areas.
More than one lakh mothers (maternity purposes) and around 78,000 lactating women now get Tk 3 50 per month in allowance.
The amount of maternity allowance may rise by Tk 50-Tk 100 to Tk 400-Tk 450 and the number of beneficiaries may also go up.
The allowances for the poverty-stricken disabled will go up to Tk 500 from Tk350 now.
The elderly and widows may see a rise by Tk 100 in their allowances, from Tk 300 now.
Under the social welfare ministry, around 41 lakh people, 80 percent of whom are elderly and widows, get allowances.
The government has also a plan to bring beggars under the social safety net programmes. The social welfare ministry has already conducted a survey and enrolled six lakh beggars.
The government may also free some areas in Dhaka city from beggars. Much of the money spent in the social welfare programmes gets wasted, according to reports of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
The government has taken an initiative to prepare a 'poverty database' at the suggestion of the development partners.Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) has started working to build the database with financial assistance from the WB.
A BBS official said the database will be in sync with the national ID database to prevent individuals from getting benefits from multiple programmes. The database will also help reduce corruption, he said.