Cut expenditure in revised budget
The finance division has strictly asked ministries and divisions not to demand any additional money beyond the amount allocated this year.
It suggested cutting expenditures in the revised budget as per the prime minister's directives on austerity measures.
The finance division yesterday issued guidelines and directives to all ministries and divisions for formulating estimations of revised budgets.
Budget implementation has seemingly progressed at a slow pace so far this fiscal year with total expenditure growing a mere 0.83 per cent in July, the first month of this fiscal year, compared to that last fiscal year.
Expenses under the annual development programme (ADP) stood at Tk 869.68 crore in July this year, which was a negative growth of 47 per cent from that in the same period of the previous fiscal year.
Till July, revenue expenditure saw a 3.45 per cent negative growth and expenses for pay and allowances a 29.28 per cent negative growth while subsidies and transfer expenses saw a growth of only 5.36 per cent.
The division issued the directives for all the government, semi-government, autonomous and statutory bodies as well as state-owned enterprises and financial institutions.
In its directives, the division said if it seems that any money of the development expenditures will remain unused, that amount can in no way be transferred to the revenue budget.
In the beginning of this fiscal year, the government rolled out a cocktail of austerity measures for its own administration.
The instructions, which were passed in three separate notices issued by the finance ministry, came after the prime minister on June 29, urging everyone to practice austerity from their own positions.
In its latest directives, the finance division asked to deduct the money allocated for particular expenses and later prohibited under austerity measures while preparing estimations of the revised budget.
It also asked not to transfer that fund to the revenue budget or any other sector.
The finance division earlier asked not to purchase vehicles, aircraft, ships, boats or barges under any development and non-development budgets until further notice.
It also instructed to curtail expenses for entertainment, tours and others by 50 per cent, expenses for petrol, oil, lubricant, gas and fuel by 20 per cent and expenses for electricity by 25 per cent.
The division earlier asked the authorities to fully suspend spending money on land acquisitions as well as purchasing computers and other electronic accessories, electrical equipment and furniture.
In the latest directives, it prohibited transfer of the amounts allocated in this regard to any other sector.
The division instructed that the authorities drop projects deemed to be less important and not to include any project without an allocation in the revised ADP.
It also asked not to include in the revised ADP projects whose development reports could not be sent to the planning commission within January 2023.
A finance ministry official said the government was planning to downsize the budget, which was earlier fixed at Tk 678,064 crore, by a big margin.
He, however, said the decision was yet to be finalised while work was ongoing in this regard.
A fiscal coordination meeting would be held, chaired by the finance minister, this month to take preliminary decisions in this regard and to prepare outlines of the revised ADP.
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