GED report suggests offering 10pc incentive
Sunday, 12 August 2007
Shakahwat Hossain
A government report has suggested offering 10 per cent incentive in areas of utility services, tax rates and land registration fees for investment in the country's underdeveloped regions aiming at poverty alleviation.
It has given priority to investment in power generation and infrastructure in those regions.
Identifying Rajshahi, Barisal and Khulna divisions as most underdeveloped regions, the General Economic Division (GED) report on "A Strategy for Poverty Reduction in Lagging Divisions" has also suggested completion of gas transmission projects in those areas.
The GED report, prepared to help the government address the problem of the regional disparity, also recommended commencement of the construction work of the Padma Bridge as early as possible.
Finance and Planning Adviser Mirza Azizul Islam in his budget speech stressed the need for timely and appropriate measures so that the disparity in development among the divisions could be reduced.
The report is based on the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) Household Integrated Economics Survey (HIES) 2000 and 2005 and other statistics like division-wise public investment, bank deposit and advances, and social safety net programmes over the years.
The report said poverty incidences in the three divisions have remained high compared with those of other divisions.
According to the HIES, the incidence of poverty in 2005 in Barisal, Rajshahi and Khulna was 52 per cent, 45.7 per cent and 51.2 per cent respectively.
It was, however, 34 per cent, 32 per cent and 33.8 per cent in Chittagong, Dhaka and Sylhet respectively in the same year.
The report made nine recommendations as short-term measures for the next 12 months and nearly a dozen as mid-term measures for the next three years.
It recommended completion of upazilla connecting roads in Barisal, Rajshahi and Khulna divisions, rejuvenation of the Mongla port -- the country's second seaport in Khulna -- and transformation of Kuakata and Barguna into full-fledged tourist centres.
Other suggestions include conducting of a feasibility study for construction of a second bridge over the Jamuna river in the upstream and taking up of a long-term dredging programme for increasing navigability of inland waterways.
Besides, the GED emphasised the need for monitoring the flow of public and private resources and special funds, and creation of employment in the underdeveloped regions.
It also suggested that the government should adopt a policy so that the inflow of remittance could be increased for those regions.
The report said one in every four households in Chittagong receives remittances, followed by 16 per cent of the households in Sylhet and 8.0 per cent in Dhaka.
In Rajshahi, only one per cent household receives remittance, in Khulna, 4.0 per cent and in Barisal, 5.0 per cent.
A government report has suggested offering 10 per cent incentive in areas of utility services, tax rates and land registration fees for investment in the country's underdeveloped regions aiming at poverty alleviation.
It has given priority to investment in power generation and infrastructure in those regions.
Identifying Rajshahi, Barisal and Khulna divisions as most underdeveloped regions, the General Economic Division (GED) report on "A Strategy for Poverty Reduction in Lagging Divisions" has also suggested completion of gas transmission projects in those areas.
The GED report, prepared to help the government address the problem of the regional disparity, also recommended commencement of the construction work of the Padma Bridge as early as possible.
Finance and Planning Adviser Mirza Azizul Islam in his budget speech stressed the need for timely and appropriate measures so that the disparity in development among the divisions could be reduced.
The report is based on the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) Household Integrated Economics Survey (HIES) 2000 and 2005 and other statistics like division-wise public investment, bank deposit and advances, and social safety net programmes over the years.
The report said poverty incidences in the three divisions have remained high compared with those of other divisions.
According to the HIES, the incidence of poverty in 2005 in Barisal, Rajshahi and Khulna was 52 per cent, 45.7 per cent and 51.2 per cent respectively.
It was, however, 34 per cent, 32 per cent and 33.8 per cent in Chittagong, Dhaka and Sylhet respectively in the same year.
The report made nine recommendations as short-term measures for the next 12 months and nearly a dozen as mid-term measures for the next three years.
It recommended completion of upazilla connecting roads in Barisal, Rajshahi and Khulna divisions, rejuvenation of the Mongla port -- the country's second seaport in Khulna -- and transformation of Kuakata and Barguna into full-fledged tourist centres.
Other suggestions include conducting of a feasibility study for construction of a second bridge over the Jamuna river in the upstream and taking up of a long-term dredging programme for increasing navigability of inland waterways.
Besides, the GED emphasised the need for monitoring the flow of public and private resources and special funds, and creation of employment in the underdeveloped regions.
It also suggested that the government should adopt a policy so that the inflow of remittance could be increased for those regions.
The report said one in every four households in Chittagong receives remittances, followed by 16 per cent of the households in Sylhet and 8.0 per cent in Dhaka.
In Rajshahi, only one per cent household receives remittance, in Khulna, 4.0 per cent and in Barisal, 5.0 per cent.