Govt suspends funding for new projects

Although the planning ministry has passed several new projects ahead of the polls, it will not be able to make funds available for the projects due to the government's fresh austerity stance to rein in the spiralling inflation.

In a letter on October 31, the finance division directed the planning commission to suspend the Tk 11,669 crore block allocation from the annual development programme.

There was a Tk 10,244 crore block allocation in this year's ADP budget for new local-funded projects and another Tk 1,425 crore block allocation for development assistance for special purposes.

Those allocations will be suspended until further notice, said a finance ministry official informed with the proceedings.

"If the economic crisis subsides after the national election in January, the ministry will decide the next course of action," he said.

Without any authorisation from the finance ministry, the promised allocations from the planning ministry will remain suspended, said another finance ministry official.

Ahead of the polls, the ministries and divisions sent a huge number of projects for approval from the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec). A good number of projects were approved too.

For example, at the Ecnec meeting on October 31, the government approved a total of 37 projects from a list of 50. Of them, 27 are new projects.

Another Ecnec meeting will be held before the announcement of the election schedule and the ministries and divisions have sent a long list of projects for approval.

At an event of the Economic Reporters' Forum on Monday, Finance Secretary Khairuzzaman Majumder said they are taking a host of measures to reduce government expenditure.

The measures included suspending the decision to purchase 261 sports utility vehicles for deputy commissioners and upazila nirbahi officers ahead of the polls, said Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder at the event.

The decision to purchase the SUVs for Tk 381 crore under the direct procurement method came in a meeting of the cabinet committee on economic affairs on October 11. The SUVs would be for officials who are usually involved with the election procedure.