The New Nation - Internet Edition

BSS, Dhaka

Adviser for Finance and Planning Dr A B Mirza Azizul Islam on Monday said, the authorities are placing emphasis on adopting projects in the new budget which are financially affordable and can be implemented within stipulated time.

The finance adviser said it while briefing reporters after a pre-budget discussion with the secretaries of the ministries and divisions which still remain out of the mid-term budgetary framework (MTBF) of the government.

Replying a question, the adviser said, projects would be adopted taking into consideration the government financing and implemention potentials. He said, the authorities would take less number of projects instead of more in the budget to be sure that these would be within implementation limits.

" We will set up bridge between the desire and affordability of the nation," he emphasized.

The adviser said, the secretaries would be firmly associated with implementing the budgets and added to make it possible the government would involve them in overseeing the implementation progress and where impediments would be noticeable they would look into it.

The secretaries would be associated with the entire process from the release of the fund till the completion of the projects, he pointed out.

Dr Mirza Aziz said, many projects see deviation from the initial estimates when they start rolling and so they become meaningless, suffer from time over-run and become source of wastage of public resources.

He said, the government is therefore trying to evaluate each project in detail in the preliminary stage so that they remain in implementation stage.

Replying another question, Dr Mirza Aziz said, the next budget would see the increase of the social safety-net and as part of it see the increase of the amount of honorium now being paid to freedom fighters.