100 days' employment generation programme may be approved today
FE Report | Thursday, 3 July 2008
The finance ministry reviews today (Thursday) the proposals and criteria for the '100 Days Employment Generation' programme that will be implemented in the new fiscal, official said Wednesday.
Finance and planning adviser Mirza Azizul Islam might approve the special programme at a meeting today. The programme aims to benefit at least 2.2 million ultra poor and the rural middle class people reeling under soaring inflation.
The programme will actually run for 120 days in 39 districts including Monga prone and river-erosion areas, said a senior finance ministry official.
As per the project proposals, the beneficiaries will be given either money for work or cash of Tk 100 each a day during January-April lean period when poor people do not have sufficient food stocks and money to buy essentials.
The total cost of the new programme, replicated the one under implementation in India, will cost the government Tk 24.08 billion, said the official.
The international monetary fund (IMF) appreciated the programme by the interim government, but warned about the revenue leakage.
To successfully run the programme and prevent revenue leakage, some 2.2 million cards will be distributed among the poor and ultra poor people in some 2100 unions.
The budget wing of the finance ministry, which has fixed the criteria and set others details of the programme, said some 8.0 million people will be directly and indirectly benefited.
Besides, the budget wing will propose to utilise Tk 9.0 billion recovered during the anti-corruption drive for implementation of the programme.
Dr. Mirza in his budget proposals said a new programme titled '100 Days Employment Generation' aims to ensure employment of poor across the country for at least 100 days.
The inflation has been a big challenge for the present caretaker government as the price of food items marked a substantial rise 'hurting the ultra poor and the rural middle class communities mainly', said the finance adviser.
A quarterly report by the food and disaster management ministry said the country's poor people have to spend 87 per cent of their food budget for purchase of rice due to soaring price of the item and the remaining 13 per cent on protein and vegetables diet in 2008.
The share of cost of rice in total food expenditure in the bottom quintile increased from 54 per cent in 2006, to 59 per cent in 2007.
But in 2008, it marked a record 28 percentage points increase forcing the poor to have little or skip other food items such as meat, vegetables and fruits, said the report.
Finance and planning adviser Mirza Azizul Islam might approve the special programme at a meeting today. The programme aims to benefit at least 2.2 million ultra poor and the rural middle class people reeling under soaring inflation.
The programme will actually run for 120 days in 39 districts including Monga prone and river-erosion areas, said a senior finance ministry official.
As per the project proposals, the beneficiaries will be given either money for work or cash of Tk 100 each a day during January-April lean period when poor people do not have sufficient food stocks and money to buy essentials.
The total cost of the new programme, replicated the one under implementation in India, will cost the government Tk 24.08 billion, said the official.
The international monetary fund (IMF) appreciated the programme by the interim government, but warned about the revenue leakage.
To successfully run the programme and prevent revenue leakage, some 2.2 million cards will be distributed among the poor and ultra poor people in some 2100 unions.
The budget wing of the finance ministry, which has fixed the criteria and set others details of the programme, said some 8.0 million people will be directly and indirectly benefited.
Besides, the budget wing will propose to utilise Tk 9.0 billion recovered during the anti-corruption drive for implementation of the programme.
Dr. Mirza in his budget proposals said a new programme titled '100 Days Employment Generation' aims to ensure employment of poor across the country for at least 100 days.
The inflation has been a big challenge for the present caretaker government as the price of food items marked a substantial rise 'hurting the ultra poor and the rural middle class communities mainly', said the finance adviser.
A quarterly report by the food and disaster management ministry said the country's poor people have to spend 87 per cent of their food budget for purchase of rice due to soaring price of the item and the remaining 13 per cent on protein and vegetables diet in 2008.
The share of cost of rice in total food expenditure in the bottom quintile increased from 54 per cent in 2006, to 59 per cent in 2007.
But in 2008, it marked a record 28 percentage points increase forcing the poor to have little or skip other food items such as meat, vegetables and fruits, said the report.