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BUDGET-DISCUSSION
Proposed budget to cut poverty and create employment for 3 cr people:
Lawmakers
SANGSAD BHABAN, June 19, 2019 (BSS) – Lawmakers today described the
proposed budget for 2019-20 fiscal as a time-befitting saying it would help
cut poverty and create employment for 3 crore people by strengthening the
economy of the country.
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on June 13 rolled out a Taka 5,23,190
crore national budget for 2019-20 fiscal setting the GDP growth target at 8.2
percent and delineating a set of programmes to transform the country into a
role model of modern and welfare state by 2041.
Taking part in on the general discussion on the fiscal plan in the Jatiya
Sangsad, they said the proposed budget would drastically decline the poverty
and would create an ample scope of employment for 3 crore people by 2030.
“The proposed budget is a master plan to reach the country into desired
goals through poverty alleviation,” said Planning Minister M A Mannan.
In 2009, the minister said country’s poverty rate was 42 per cent, but now
it has reduced to 21 per cent and it is a matter of pride for the developing
countries like Bangladesh for achieving the success within very short span of
time.
“As the Prime Minister has a plan to create employment for 3 crore youths
by 2030 …and the proposed budget will create a scope to implement the
plan,” said Major (retd) Rafiqul Islam.
Criticizing the BNP-Jammat government, the former minister said the BNP-
Jammat didn’t give attention to the poverty alleviation, adding that the
present government has given attention to the poverty alleviation.
The main objective of the proposed budget is to take pragmatic programmes
so that the livelihood of the lower income and poor people could be upgraded,
said the former minister.
Regarding the deficit in the proposed budget, the former minister said
although the proposed budget has a deficit of Taka 1,45,380 crore and the
deficit will not create any hassle to implement the budget.
Participating in the budget discussion, Railway Minister Nurul Islam Sujan
told the House that the increased allocation for the railway sector would
open a new horizon through enhancing the railway to the north-eastern region
of the country.
In 2009, the budgetary allocation for the railway sector was Taka 600
crore and now it has been raised to Taka 16,357 crore, said the minister. The
proposed budget has taken programmes to develop the railway sector so that a
balanced communication system could be built, the minster added.
Welcoming the budget, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JASAD) lawmaker Shirin
Akhter said about 30 per cent of the allocation of the total budget outlay
would be spent for the development of the women population of the country.
She, however, stressed on bringing good governance in the banking sector,
otherwise we would not succeed in bringing back decency in the economic
sector in the country. Treasury bench member Narayon Chandra Chanda, Rushema
Begum, Mohammad Shubid Ali Bhuiyan, AKM Fazlul Haque, Kazi Keramat Ali,Syeda
Zohora Alauddin, Selima Ahmad, Begum Shamsunnahar, Abu Reza Mohammad
Nezamuddin Nadwi, Gazi Mohammad Shahnawaz, Dr Samil Uddin Ahmed Shimul,
Shamsul Alam Dudu,Workers Party chief Rashed Khan Menon, Mustafa Lutfullah,
BNP lawmaker Rumeen Farhana, Md Zahidur Rahman and Independent lawmaker
Rezaul Karim Bablu, took part in the discussion.
Earlier, they paid their cordial tribute to the memory of Father of the
Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, four national leaders, martyred
freedom fighters and also those who made their utmost sacrifices during the
War of Liberation and all subsequent democratic movements in the country.
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