The government is likely to compromise the development budget in the current fiscal year because of a sharp rise in non-development expenditure.
Finance ministry officials said an amount of Tk 10,000 crore was likely to be slashed from the projected annual development programme worth Tk 65,780 crore to meet the rising non-development costs in the crucial election year.
Plummeting revenue and low utilisation of foreign loans and grants against the rising non-development costs because of pay hike for public servants and allowances for defence and law enforces might force the government to go for around 15 per cent cut in the ADP, they said.
Experts said the country’s growth forecast in the current fiscal year would be lowered further if the government fails to implement the projected ADP to lift the falling private sector investment.
Available data showed that the country’s private sector credit growth achieved only 4.41 per cent in July-November of 2013 against half-yearly target of 15.50 per cent as the businessmen remained shy of investment.
The finance ministry officials, however, said the revised outlay of the ADP was yet to be finalised by the planning ministry.
The finance ministry has already conveyed its concern to the Planning Commission as the later has started the process of revising the ADP.
National Board of Revenue chairman Ghulam Hussain told New Age that the revenue shortfall would cross Tk 13,000 crore in this fiscal year.
-With New Age input
