DHAKA, June 13, 2019 (BSS) – Valiant freedom fighters and poor people, including the old, widow and financially insolvent disabled, will get more allowances in the next fiscal 2019-2020 as the government has proposed in the Jatiya Sangsad (JS) additional allocation for social protection.
While placing the FY20 budget in the Jatiya Sangsand today, the government proposed for increasing the state honorarium for the valiant freedom fighters from Taka 10,000 to Taka 12,000, number of the recipients of allowances for elderly people from 40 lakh to 44 lakh, for widows and victims of domestic violence from 14 lakh to 17 lakh and for insolvent persons with disabilities from 10 lakh to 15.45 lakh.
To bring all third gender people under the net, the number of beneficiaries of Third Gender Livelihood Development programmes to be increased to 6 thousand.
Additional 20 thousand beneficiaries from the gypsies and disadvantaged communities will be included in the current list of 64 thousand persons.
According to the budget proposal, the number of beneficiaries of the financial assistance programme for patients suffering from cancer, kidney, liver cirrhosis, paralyzed due to stroke and congenital heart diseases will be increased from 15 thousand to 30 thousand.
The government also proposed to increase the number of beneficiaries of livelihood development programmes for tea-garden workers from 40 thousand to 50 thousand and the number of beneficiaries of maternity allowances for poor mothers will be increased from 7 lakh to 7 lakh 70 thousand.
The number of beneficiaries under lactating mothers’ assistance programmes will be increased from 2 lakh 50 thousand to 2 lakh 75 thousand.
“Priority is given for ensuring the selection of genuine beneficiaries to enhance the effectiveness of social safety net programmes. For this purpose, steps have been taken to establish MIS for all programmes and database for all beneficiaries. Payments are being made directly from the government to the beneficiaries through the G2P system,” the finance minister’s budget speech read.
As per budget speech, the government is working relentlessly to preserve the relics of the liberation war and ensure the welfare of the freedom fighters. In order to ensure the overall welfare of the freedom fighters, state honorariums are being given to freedom fighters and their successors. The amount of this allowance has been increased many times in the last ten years.
“Besides, two festival bonuses, glorious Victory Day allowance, and Bengali New Year allowance are also being provided. Their allowances are now being sent electronically to their bank accounts. A law titled Bangladesh Freedom Fighters Welfare Trust Act, 2018 has been enacted to ensure the welfare of the freedom fighters,” it read.
To provide housing facilities to the freedom fighters, single-storey buildings are being constructed for 15,000 insolvent freedom fighters in the country, either on their own land or through settlement in Khas lands, if necessary.