The railway ministry has requested the Planning Commission to hike its allocation in the revised development budget for the current fiscal 2013-14.
The amount is Tk 2.90 billion higher than that made in the original ADP, officials said Tuesday.
Planning Commission (PC) officials said the railway ministry has demanded higher funds in the next Revised Annual Development Programme (RADP) since spending on most of its large projects has escalated.
In the original ADP, the government had allocated Tk 36.61 billion for developing infrastructure and services of the state-owned Bangladesh Railway (BR).
The PC has started its work on the RADP of the current financial year (FY) 2013-14, which is likely to be finalised next month. The Tk 658.72 billion outlay of the ADP is likely to be slashed due to lower spending by the government agencies, officials said.
"Since the railway needs substantial investment for upgradation of its ailing infrastructure, logistics and services, we have sought funds higher than the original allocations," said a BR official.
A senior PC official, however, expressed his reservation about the railway ministry's demand in the upcoming RADP. The railway, the country's seventh largest development fund spending entity could spend only 25 per cent of its allocation in the July-November period this fiscal.
According to the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) data, the ministry spent Tk 9.24 billion, 25 per cent of Tk 36.61 billion outlay in the current ADP.
The government included 44 projects of the railway ministry in the original ADP. Another project was approved by the government during the first half (July-December) of the current fiscal.
Among the projects, the railway has undertaken 13 projects with the support of US$800 million Indian line of credit (LoC).
The projects are being considered as very vital as these would facilitate launching of regional corridors, especially cross-border transport between Bangladesh and India.
The PC official said: "We are scrutinising the railway ministry's fund demand for the projects in the proposed RADP. If we find the projects beneficial for the country, we will allocate the money according to its demand."
He said the railway needs to modernise its services, procuring new locomotives, carriages and other supporting equipment for strengthening its base.
The government, in its last five-year tenure, allocated the largest-ever fund for improving the services of the BR.
Bangladesh's railway sector has failed to improve its desired services despite a record investment of Tk 103.71 billion during last five years, insiders said.
The railway spent Tk103.71 billion between the financial year (FY) 2009-10 and FY 2012-13 under the ADPs. But it failed to achieve the development goals, they said.
The fund spending in the last five years of the present government was higher than the total investment made in the previous one decade for the railway development, he said.
The government, terming the railway as one of the top priority sectors, has been allocating more money which now has reached Tk 36.61 billion in the current FY2013-14 development budget. This is nearly 72 per cent higher than the Tk 21.24 billion outlay in the FY 2009-10.
According to the ADP allocations, the government allocated Tk 21.24 billion in FY2010, Tk 29.59 billion in FY2011, Tk 22.66 billion in FY2012 and Tk 30.22 billion in the last FY2013.
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