In response to the communication minister's remark on disbursement of fund for road repairs, the finance minister, AMA Muhith, on Wednesday said that the question of disbursement did not come in this regard.
He also blamed ministries, including the communications ministry, for not prioritising the selection and implementation of the projects.
'The planning and budgeting unit of every ministry must be strong and be strengthened and has to exercise this discipline of priority,' he added.
In reply to a question, he said that the allocation for different projects is not adequate compared with the demand. As a result, there is a need to prioritise the projects.
As for rundown condition of the Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway, he said it has almost been destroyed as there was no maintenance in the past seven years.
'Once the budget is passed in the parliament, the allocated funds go to the ministries concerned and there is no disbursement business here,' he told reporters in his ministry's conference room on Wednesday.
Muhith said that his ministry releases fund if it is not included in the budget or when a change is made in the allocation.
He said that in the Annual Development Programme of the current financial year, the Roads and Highways Department features 147 projects, including six new ones.
An amount of Tk 1401 crore was allotted for a project for the repairs of roads and highways, he said.
Muhith said that the project has so far witnessed an expenditure of Tk 56 crore in the previous year as well as an allocation of Tk 50 crore in the current year.
The finance minister on Tuesday said the communication minister did comment on release of fund on road repair without having a clear understanding of the matter.
At a cabinet meeting on Sunday, Abul Hossain and Muhith argued in presence of the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, as she sought explanation from Hossain over the current status of roads and the deaths of filmmaker Tareque Masud and journalist Mishuk Munier and three others in a fatal road crash on Saturday.
Source : New Age
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