Proposed budget to turn sonar bangla into a reality: Lawmakers

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SANGSAD BHABAN, June 18, 2018 (BSS) – Lawmakers participating in the national budget discussion
today said the proposed national budget for 2018-19 fiscal not only would boost the economy but also turn
the sonar bangla dreamt by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to a reality under the leadership of
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

At the same time, they said the mega budget also playing a significant role by maintaining the continuity of
development and helping transform the country into a developed one by 2041.

Taking part in the general discussion on the budget discussion in the house, Housing and Public Works
Minister Engineer Mosharraf Hossain said the subsequent 10 national mega budgets since 2009-10 fiscal
year have been displaying the scenario of prosperity of the country.

“We hope that the proposed GDP growth will not be less than 7.5 per cent in 2018-19 while it was 5.56 per
cent in 2009-10 and then the GDP growth was rising and stood at 7.11 per cent in 2015 and afterwards it
was fixed at 7 per cent,”said the minister.

Although country’s total population is 160 million while only 3.5 million or 1 per cent people are paying tax,
said the minister, adding that so the government should to increase the purview of tax by brining at least
20 million people under the tax net.
Criticizing the negative comment by the opposition on the banking sector, the Housing and Public Works
minister said “the banking sector is remaining active due to the initiative taken by the finance minister,
saying that none of the banks so far has been collapsed.
“We are going to opening a single digit call centre for the power subscribers in the next year for resolving all
the complaints lodge by the subscribers on power distribution related problem across the country,” said the
State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resource Nasrul Hamid.

Whip Shahiduzzaman Sarker said the mega budget is pro-people as Awami League always ensures
common people’s interest. “The presentation of the mega budget has been possible by the government only
due to increase of the GDP,” he said.

Criticizing the comment by the BNP on the proposed national budget as a ‘fake budget’ the Whip said “we
didn’t understand what BNP want to mean the proposed national budget as a fake one, but they [BNP-
Jammat] are hatching conspiracy to foil the ongoing development of the country.”

He hoped that after implementation of the budget the country would not only progress to a middle-income
country by 2021, adding, “We would build a happy, prosperous, pollution-free and developed country under
the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.”

Describing the development activities of the government, Shahiduzzaman said “the electricity was first
introduced in the undivided Bengal in 1905, each and every houses had not come under electricity coverage
in that time and afterwards, but around 92 per cent people already have come under the electricity coverage
under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.”

“The proposed budget outlay now reach to Taka 4.66 lakh crore from the outlay of Taka 89,000 crore which
has been possible for overall development of the country,” said Deputy Minister for Environment and Forest
Abdullah Al Jacob.
The forest area during the BNP regime was only 9.5 per cent, but it has now reached to 17 per cent, he
said, adding that “we hope that the forest area would increase to 20 per cent by 2020.”

The lawmakers during their discussion also welcomed the Prime Minister for conducting countrywide drive
against the drug.

Treasury bench members Umme Razia Kazol, Tipu Munshi, Mohammad Muslemuddin, Mrinal Kanti Das,
Anwarul Abedin Khan, Hosneara Begum, also took part in the general discussion on budget.

On June 7, Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith placed a Taka 4,645.73 billion national budget for
2018-19 fiscal setting the GDP growth target at 7.8 percent and detailing a set of programmes to transform
the country into a role model of modern and welfare state by 2041.

Earlier, the lawmakers paid rich tributes to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and
most of his family members who were assassinated on August 15, 1975 and all martyred during the War of
Liberation in 1971.