Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, convenor of the Citizens’ Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh, on Wednesday said that there was lack of consultation for the proposed FY26 budget, with an evident absence of effective measures for disadvantaged populations.
“We observed shortcomings in implementation, transparency, and accountability. Despite changes in government, there has been no significant shift in the approach to budget formulation. The expectations raised after the August 5 transition, particularly regarding neglected and marginalized populations, remain unaddressed in the budget.”
“The budget contains both errors and flaws. Errors are those aspects that were known but not addressed, while flaws refer to conceptual issues, such as whether the allocated resources are being effectively utilized. This budget can be deemed anti-reform and inequality-promoting because it lacks efforts towards necessary reforms and fails to ensure income and resource equity,” said Dr Bhattacharya, who is also a distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD.)
Prof Mustafizur Rahman, another distinguished fellow at the CPD, commented: “Instead of addressing inequality, we are moving in the opposite direction. The income of the wealthy will increase, while the middle-income groups will lag further behind. Allocations for social security have decreased in real terms compared to inflation. For example, the elderly allowance has only been increased by Tk50 to Tk650, whereas it should have been Tk900.”
Adviser to the acting chairperson of BNP Dr Mahdi Amin remarked: “This budget continues the trend of the past 16 years, with reduced allocations in education, health, and agriculture. Allocations for social security programs for persons with disabilities, the elderly, widows, and indigenous people have not increased. If elected, we commit to enhancing these sectors.”
Senior joint-convener of the National Citizens' Party Samantha Sharmin stated: “Neglecting, marginalized populations cannot be their identity. The social, political, and economic transformations we envisioned are missing from this budget. We wanted a revolutionary constitution. Migrants, persons with disabilities, the indigenous communities, and other marginalized groups, who are key parts of our society, have not been adequately accounted for in the budget.
“During the July Movement, 168 street children lost their lives. The value of their lives and feelings is not reflected in the budget. Political parties must consider their issues and include special allocations for them.
“Allocations for primary education and research are also insufficient. More resources should have been dedicated to modernizing youth. Although this government came to power through a popular uprising, its budget-making process reflects the attitude of a caretaker government. We must move towards a larger and more inclusive budget,” she added.
Senior Research Fellow at CPD Towfiqul Islam Khan delivered the keynote paper at the event.
He highlighted in his analysis that allocations for marginalized and disadvantaged populations are insufficient, and implementation faces serious challenges.
Economists, researchers, civil society representatives, and members of the transgender community, among others, participated in the event and discussed various aspects of the budget.