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Download PDF With a few days left of the BNP-led government’s tenure, Communications Minister Nazmul Huda slashed funds for different legitimate sectors and allocated the money for his ‘discretionary fund’.
Sources in the finance and communications ministries alleged that Huda siphoned Tk 30 crore to the ‘discretionary fund’ to achieve his own interest by changing the original schedule of fund allocation. He even began spending the money without approval from the finance ministry, sources said.
The communications minister allocated another Tk 48 crore fund to some ‘improvised’ sectors which are also not approved by the finance ministry. The sources said these sectors had been improvised to provide the communications minister with latitude in spending the money.
The ‘discretionary fund’, which has no legitimacy, was allegedly manufactured by Nazmul Huda to spend the money in sectors which are deemed politically expedient by him, added the sources.
The Tk 30 crore ‘discretionary fund’ was created by the minister by siphoning the amount from a Tk 40 crore fund approved by the finance ministry only for repairs and maintenance of roads, bridges and highways.
The remaining Tk 10 crore allegedly was allotted to a new fund, which is dedicated to pay off the unpaid bills of the contractors for the Department of Roads and Highways, an account which does not exist on the finance ministry’s list of funds.
According to ministry sources the new fund will be distributed to contractors following recommendations of some lawmakers.
Earlier, the finance ministry had selected 10 sectors and allocated Tk 38 crore for those but the communications minister rearranged the schedule of allocation according to his own whim, the sources said.
The finance and communications ministries sources said Tk 915.50 crore had been allotted to the Department of Roads and Highways under the communications ministry in the 2006-07 fiscal budget and the government already approved spending of Tk 179 crore on eleven sectors.
The finance ministry allocated Tk 40 crore of the already approved Tk 179 crore spending for repairs and maintenance of roads and highways. But ignoring the finance ministry recommendation the communications minister made changes and transferred Tk 30 crore to the ‘discretionary fund’, the sources said adding that there is no finance ministry provision for approving discretionary spending by ministers.
“This is absolutely a violation of rules and the communications minister cannot commit to such expenditures,” said a finance ministry official.
The sources said, Nazmul Huda informed the finance ministry about the possible expenditure of a total Tk 78 crore on October 18 but the finance ministry did not approve the proposal. But Huda began spending the money anyhow. He even took initiatives to show that the total amount of Tk 78 crore allocated to the new fund was spent before the handover of power to the next interim government.
According to government rules a ministry can disburse a highest of Tk 50 lakh for any special road repair project. But violating the rules the communications minister allocated Tk 10 crore for repairing roads in Sylhet. He also allocated Tk 5 crore for maintenance of roads across the country, Tk 5 crore for forestation, Tk 5 crore for maintaining rest houses of the roads and highways division, Tk 4 crore for land acquisition, and Tk 9 crore for paying the arrears and for emergency works.
The finance ministry sources said only the fund for land acquisition had been approved by the ministry and all the rest are unapproved.
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