Metropolis Desk-
To ease the financial strain on the state funds, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today requested that the relevant agencies progressively buck the trend of providing subsidies, initially for utilities like water and electricity.
The decision was issued by the premier during the last Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) meeting of the current administration, which was facilitated at the NEC Conference Room located in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, the metropolis.
Planning Minister MA Mannan told reporters following the meeting that the premier had urged the relevant authorities to stop giving subsidies mainly for some essential utility services like water and electricity.
The habit of subsidies must be abandoned gradually. Water and power are examples of universal utilities that everyone uses. Mannan quoted Hasina when he stated, “Everyone benefits equally from such subsidies, from ministers to cleaners.”
The minister of planning stated that at the discussion, the prime minister proposed setting rates or fees for these utilities based on factors such as family size, income level, and geography.
In response to a query, Mannan stated that although these are still the PM’s preliminary ideas, relevant specialists will continue to work on them to strengthen the arguments for the associated costs and levies.
He stated that such a system would be created by industrialized nations’ practices.
Mannan stated that Hasina reiterated the importance of creating a special fund by collecting tolls to sustain the nation’s roads and highways over the long haul.
There will be no ECNEC meeting after the Election Commission releases its schedule for the upcoming general election, according to the planning minister, who stated that 44 projects were approved during the five-and-a-half-hour meeting of the day.
State Minister for Planning Dr. Shamsul Alam responded to a different query by saying that the IMED is appropriately carrying out its duties through project monitoring and evaluation and that the government believes in accountability, as evidenced by the fact that every development project is approved at the PEC meeting and then passed at the ECNEC.
The sanctioning of projects at the ECNEC meeting, according to Planning Division Secretary Satyajit Karmakar, is unrelated to the next general election.
