Finance adviser Salehuddin Ahmed on Monday asked secretaries of high spending ministries to ensure transparency and accountability in implementing the national budget for the forthcoming financial year 2025-26.
At a pre-budget discussion at the secretariat in the capital Dhaka, he also asked them to execute the annual development programme timely.
During the meeting, secretaries and representatives of 23 ministries and divisions, which are given a substantial part of the budget allocation, identified problems hindering implementation of the fiscal measures.
But the finance adviser did not disclose those.
Officials attending the meeting said that high spending ministries like the road transport and bridges ministry and local government, rural development and cooperatives ministry had showed delays in preparing project designs, releasing funds, procurement of construction materials and appointment of consultants as main barriers.
The high spending ministries also expressed displeasure with the cut in allocation under the current FY25 budget, added the officials.
On March 13, the government revised down the budget for the 2024-25 financial year 6.6 per cent, or Tk聽53,000 crore, to Tk 7,44,000 crore because of a shortage of resources.
The Awami League government that was ousted on August 5, 2024, in a mass uprising had announced an outlay of Tk 7,97,000 crore for the current financial year of FY25.
The interim government that assumed power on August 8 cut the outlay, reshaping it in the last quarter of the financial year to be ended in June.
The major cut in the FY25 budget was attributed to downsizing the annual development programme by Tk 49,000 crore.
In the past week, the National Economic Council at a meeting revised down the ADP to Tk聽2,16,000 crore from Tk聽2,65,000 crore.
The finance adviser said unlike the previous occasions, the interim government would announce an implementable budget with realistic targets.
He said, 鈥楾he new budget will be a pro-people one.鈥�
This was the third pre-budget discussion between the finance ministry and other stakeholders this year.
Earlier, the finance ministry held two meeting 鈥� one with economists and the other with representatives of print and electronic media.
Today, the Economic Reporters鈥� Forum will hold a pre-budget discussion with the finance minister at the secretariat.