SANGSAD BHABAN, June 29, 2019 (BSS) – Lawmakers today said the proposed budget for 2019-20 fiscal would protect the poor through implementing various projects and programmes and keep the ongoing development of the country up within the stipulated time.
On June 13 in the Jatiya Sangsad, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal unveiled 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 the general discussion for the tenth and final day on the national budget in the Jatiya Sangsad, the lawmakers said the budget will cut poverty gradually and reach the country into a middle income country by 2021 and a developed one by 2041.
Participating in the general discussion on budget, whip Shamsul Haq Chowdhury said “It is usual that the proposed budget outlay is bigger in size as Taka 74,000 crore has been earmarked for the social safety net programme.”
The proposed budget is not a conventional one at all, but the proposed budget placed for the development of the poor people, said the ruling party whip.
The budget now reached to Taka 5,23,190 crore gradually since its earlier budgetary outlay of Taka 1,13,170 crore in 2009-10 fiscal led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina while the budgetary allocation during the BNP-Jammat regime was only Taka 64,000, he said.
Discussing on the proposed budget, Minister for Foreign Affairs AK Abdul Momen expected that the implementation of the proposed budget will cut the poverty rate at 5 per cent in the next five years, adding that the realization of all the previous budget had effectively slashed the poverty rate at 21 per cent from its earlier level of 41 per cent.
Terming the proposed budget as ‘humanitarian development budget’ the foreign minister said all the new projects and programmes including ‘Ekti Bari Ekti Khamar’, ‘all villages would be towns’, ‘Asrayan’ and social safety net programmes taken by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has changed the eco-social
situation of the country.
The rate of the extreme poor has already been declined due to the initiative by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said former Food Minister Qamrul Islam, saying that the proposed budget would help cut the extreme poverty rate in the next five years.
Considering the pace of the ongoing development of the country, Liberation Affairs Minister AKM
Mozammel Huq said the country will reach to a prosperous country before the stipulated timeframe
under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
On the welfare activities of the government for the veteran freedom fighters, Huq said the
government has allocated Taka 2200 crore for the insolvent freedom fighters, saying that each
insolvent freedom fighter will get Taka 15 lakh.
He urged the government to remove all the graves including former president Ziaur Rahman from the
Jatiya Sangsad area.
Terming the budget as a philosophy of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, chief whip Noor-E-Alam
Chowdhury said the country will be a prosperous country if the budget of such ideology could be
implemented.
Welcoming the proposed budget, State Minister of Labour and Employment Monnujan Sufian said the
government has proposed an outlay of Taka 5,23,190 crore in 2019-20 fiscal for keeping continuous
development of the country.
Bitterly criticizing the critics of some quarters on the proposed budget, Minister for Chittagong Hill
Tracts Affair Bir Bahadur U Shwe Sing said the proposed budget does not spare any communities of
people and any region of the country.
Recalling the peace agreement in the Chittagong Hill Tracts the CHT minister said once upon a time the
budgetary allocation for the region was Taka 50-60 crore and now the allocation has crossed Taka
thousand crore.
Terming the budget as smart one, State Minister for Youth and Sports Zahid Ahsan Russel said, “the
budget has earmarked Taka 100 crore startup fund for the youth entrepreneurs and the concerned
youth and sports ministry has taken up necessary programmes for providing employment to 3 crore
people by 2030.”
“The proposed budget is committed to cut poverty and expedite development of the country and
turn a modern country within the period of 2041”, said Ashim Kumar Ukil.
Jatiya Party lawmaker Masuda M Rashid Chowdhury said the budget implementation is somewhat
challenging as the budget deficit is Taka 1,45,380 crore where Taka 47,364 crore would be taken from
the banking sector as a loan.
Terming the implementation of the proposed budget is challenging, deputy leader of the opposition
Raushan Ershad said the implementation of the proposed budget is somewhat challenging. She was
optimistic that revenue earning of Taka 3,77,810 crore will be realized, but the poor performance of
the National Board of Revenue (NBR) will create a big challenge for the proposed budget.
Highlighting the proposed budget as the 48th budget of the country, the deputy leader of the
opposition urged the government to take necessary initiative so that the proposed budget would not
create further inequality between the poor and the rich.
Treasury bench member Qamrul Islam, Asaduzzaman Noor, Jaya Sen Gupta, Showkat Hasanur
Rahman (Rimon), Shahin Akter, Md. Mohibbur Rahman,Shafiqul Islam Shimul, Shahiduzzaman Sarker,
Syeda Zakia Nur, Shaikh Salahuddin, Akbar Hossain Pathan (Farooque), Mohammad Ebadul Karim,
Ataur Rahman Khan, Ahmed Firoz Kabir, Parveen Haque Sikder, Nahim Razzaq, took part in the
general discussion on proposed national budget.
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.