An inadequate budgetary allocation for the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector in the proposed budget for the next fiscal year will put pressure on the government to realise the millennium development goals (MDGs) on time, experts said yesterday.
The observation was made at a post-budget press conference, organised by the international NGO, WaterAid, and Human Development and Research Centre (HDRC), to bring attention to inequality in budget allocations.
Economist Abul Barkat and Md Khairul Islam, country representative of WaterAid Bangladesh, spoke at the press conference.
Hard to reach and underserved areas, like chars, haors, the coastal belt, hill tracts, urban slums and small towns are still neglected in the proposed budget, they said. Allocation in the development budget is heavily biased toward urban areas (urban 83% & rural 17%), with about 49% allocated in favour of Dhaka city and Chittagong city.
The proposed budget shows that the allocation for the WASH sector in FY 2013-14 has decreased by about Tk1.5bn, compared to the previous fiscal.
Barkat said the allocation for WASH depicts a downward scenario, compared to that of education and health. The allocation of Tk287.6m for arsenic mitigation in the development budget is quite insufficient, he said.
“There are 53 unapproved high-utility WASH projects included in the ADP (17 government and 36 donor funded). Processing and approval of these projects needs to be expedited and included in the annual development budget. Special attention should be given to drainage projects,” Barkat said.
Khairul Islam said the allocation for WASH will put the government under pressure to achieve the MDGs in time.
“It is, therefore, important that the allocation is equitable and justified, and the funds reach the people who need the most support,” he said.
