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Budgetary allocation for municipalities inadequate

Mayors tell dialogue

Staff Correspondent
The country”s municipal mayors yesterday urged the government to increase their allocations while passing the national budget in the parliament, for ensuring development and wellbeing of an ever-increasing urban population.
Speaking at a pre-budget dialogue on "pro-poor urban development” at the capital's Brae Centre Inn, they also called upon the government to disburse their budget allocation directly instead of via different "bureaucratic channels".
Brae in association with Municipal Association of
Bangladesh (MAB) and Power and Participation Research Centre
(PPRC) arranged the dialogue ahead of next month's national budget.
Inadequate allocation,
manpower shortage and outdated laws are among challenges to address the needs of urban population, mainly the poor, the mayors said.
MAB Joint Secretary General and Madaripur Municipal Mayor Khalid Hossain said the country's 327 municipalities have only 43,110 permanent and 22,444 temporary employees, who are responsible to provide services to over 2.16 crore dwellers.
In 2017-18 fiscal alone, the municipalities had due ofTk 762.25 crore as salaries and allowances, Khalid said, while presenting a keynote.
As part of nondevelopment expenditure, the government allocated Tk 13.67 crore only for salaries, which was less than one percent of the requirement, he said.
"Due to irregular salary disbursement, many municipal employees lost their efficiency, which affected services to people," he added.
Speaking as chief guest, Planning Minister MA Mannan said the government has undertaken a number of projects to provide housing to the urban poor including construction of multistoried buildings, allocation of land and housing loans.
There will be adequate allocation in 2019-20 national budget to complete the projects, he assured.
Moderating the dialogue, PPRC Executive Chairman Hossain Zillur Rahman said although the urban poor populace has a significant contribution in GDP growth, the mindset towards their social recognition was still not as expected, which needs to change.
Senior Secretary Shah Kamal of Disaster Management and Relief Ministry and Brae Executive Director Asif Saleh, among others, spoke.