Tk 73.83b budget for rail ministry suggested

A tripartite meeting of the ministry of finance (MoF), the ministry of railways (MoR) and the Planning Commission recommended Tk 73.83 billion budget for the rail ministry for the next fiscal year (FY), 2015-16.
However, the Bangladesh Railway (BR) demanded Tk 112.94 billion more allocation in the next budget, as against MoF's projection of Tk 67.25 billion.
The BR in a recent letter to the MoF demanded an additional amount of Tk 180.19 billion in the next FY budget, under Medium-Term Budgetary Framework (MTBF), to meet the expenditures of its various development projects. The demand also included Tk 22.26 billion non-development expenditure.
A review meeting of MTBF on MoR, however, discarded the proposal, terming it contradictory even to the country's GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth rate.
Earlier, MoF recommended Tk 61.99 billion expenditure for MoR for FY 16, which included Tk 21.89 billion for non-development expenditure and Tk 40.10 billion for development expenditure.
The projected budget expenditure for MoR for the next two fiscals -- 2016-17 and 2017-18 -- have been fixed at Tk 77.65 billion and Tk 82.86 billion respectively.  
The meeting observed that revenue income from BR's passenger and cargo carrying decreased by about 25 per cent in last fiscal, 2013-14, as against the projected target, although the income was 7.0 per cent up in the previous fiscal. They attributed the fall mainly to decline in cargo transportation.
MoR's capacity utilisation, according to the observation, stands at 78 per cent in case of development spending and 101 per cent in case of non-development expenses.
The meeting urged MoR to take measures to increase BR's revenue income by reviewing the existing charges and fares.
It suggested MoR not to depend solely on government funding and highlighted the urgency for implementing big projects through joint ventures under PPP (Public Private Partnership) initiative.
The ministry was also asked to take initiatives to take loan from development partners in case of executing the big projects.
The meeting, however, opined that an additional amount of Tk 11.83 billion may be allocated for implementation of some priority projects. The projects included: construction of railway track between Mongla Port and Khulna, construction of single-line dual-gauge rail-track from Dohazari to Cox's Bazar via Ramu and Ramu to Gundum near Myanmar, and procurement of 120 broad-gauge passenger carriages.
The meeting also said a lump sum amount of Tk 1.19 billion might be allocated for unapproved projects. The ministry has 80 projects, of which 54 are approved and 26 are unapproved. Some 17 projects are expected to be completed by the next fiscal.
Presided over by the Finance Division joint secretary (budget-5), the meeting observed that a country's economic development depends greatly on its communication system and recognised BR's role in this regard.
It also suggested more allocation for introducing new rail routes, improving passenger services, and proper maintenance and further development of rail the roads.
    mzrbd@yahoo.com