REJAUL KARIM BYRON

The social welfare ministry has sought Tk 14,179 crore in the next budget to implement five programmes outlined in the BNP’s electoral manifesto, including an expansion of the Family Card scheme and housing for floating and displaced people living in Dhaka’s slums.

Of the amount, Tk 13,000 crore has been proposed to bring 40 lakh families under the Family Card programme, while Tk 735 crore has been sought to build 500-square-foot flats for around 5,000 marginalised people, particularly residents of Korail and other slums in the capital, ministry officials said.

The ministry also sought Tk 100 crore for a “Special Children Welfare Fund” aimed at ensuring free education for disadvantaged and orphaned children, alongside creating pathways for their employment, another commitment outlined in the electoral manifesto of BNP.

Social Welfare Minister AZM Zahid Hossain placed the proposals in a demi-official (DO) letter to Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury on March 31.

Finance ministry officials said the budget for the next fiscal year is being tentatively set at around Tk 9 lakh crore. A high-level meeting, to be chaired by the finance minister, will be held soon to finalise the allocations.

They said the ministry has been holding inter-ministerial consultations since last month, which are likely to conclude this week. Subsidies for fuel, power, and fertiliser are expected to rise amid the ongoing Middle East crisis, they added.

A finance ministry official, requesting anonymity, said priority would be given to implementing the government’s electoral pledges, with possible adjustments to existing social safety net programmes.

“The final decisions, however, will be made after detailed discussions at a cabinet committee meeting on social safety nets, to be chaired by the finance minister,” said the official.

The Family Card programme was piloted in March of the current fiscal year, covering 37,814 individuals across 15 wards of 13 upazilas. Each beneficiary household is receiving Tk 2,500 per month in cash support.

Full-scale implementation of the scheme will begin in the next fiscal year.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman recently told parliament that an additional 30,000 families will be brought under the scheme this year, with a target to cover four crore families gradually nationwide within four years.

If this BNP’s major electoral promise is fully implemented, the programme would require around Tk 5,000 crore per month, or Tk 60,000 crore annually -- equivalent to about 12 percent of the current fiscal year’s revenue target. This could make it the largest social protection expenditure in the country’s history.

According to the ministry’s 2026 guideline, the Family Card In

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