Supplementary budget to help bolster development : lawmakers

 Lawmakers participating in the supplementary budget discussion today said that the proposed supplementary budget for out-going 2018-19 fiscal would help bolster the ongoing development of the country.

Taking part in the budget discussion, senior ruling party lawmaker and former Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury said, “the House will pass the supplementary budget which has been earmarked for different sectors as the outlay of the supplementary budget has been spent for the development of the country.”

Although the allocation of Taka 1,895crore was earmarked for the Election Commission(EC) in the national budget of 2018-19, but it was enhanced to Taka 4,312crore, said the former minister, adding that the increased allocation under the supplementary budget has been spent for election purposes.

Regarding the enhanced allocation of Taka 6,100 crore, up from Taka 4,900 crore, Matia said the enhanced allocation has been spent for construction of housing for the poor and middle income people.

Disagreed with the attribution of ‘highly ambitious budget’, Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque said “the BNP’s claim on the present budget as the highly ambitious is not true.”

Bitterly criticizing two BNP lawmakers interventions in the House, State Minister for Information Communication and Technology (ICT) Zunaid Ahmed Palak said, the each and every pennies are being spent for the welfare of the people, not for the welfare of their political purpose like the BNP.

“The experience of the expenditure of the supplementary budget of 2018-19 will help implement the national budget of 2019 -20,”said Jatiya party lawmaker Fakhrul Imam.

Demanding for implementation of good governance, Jatiya party lawmaker Pir Fazlur Rahman said “The implementation of good governance will check the wastage of budgetary allocation and corruption in various sector.”

Treasury bench members Farukh KhanMP, Abdus Shahid MP, BNP lawmakers Harunur Rashid, Advocate Rumeen Farhana, Mosharraf Hosain, Jatiya party lawmaker Rustam Ali Farazi MP, also took part in the supplementary budget discussion.

On June 13, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal placed a supplementary budget of Taka 4,42,541 crore for 2018-19 and proposed national budget of Taka 5,23,19 crore setting the GDP growth target at 8.2 per cent.