The government has again diverted the unexpected expenditure management fund to pay the salaries and allowances for the next six months of operation of the newly formed Pay Commission, in violation of the budget management act.
Finance ministry yesterday disbursed Tk1.99 crore for the payment of the salaries and allowances and other expenditures of the Pay Commission through a circular.
The government allocated Tk1,200 crore in the current budget for unexpected expenditures, but 75% of the fund has already been spent because of shortage of available funds. The unexpected expenditure management fund is kept for disaster management and emergency situations.
The government on November 24 last year constituted the eighth Pay and Service Commission to formulate a new pay structure for public servants and it came into effect from December 17.
The commission will submit a report on the salary hike of 13 lakh government employees in six months. However, the time limit can be extended if necessary, according to a Pay Commission circular.
As per the Public Moneys and Budget Management Act, 2009, the government cannot divert funds which have already been allocated for a specific purpose in the budget announcement.
An official of the Finance Division said the government diverted funds from the unexpected expenditure allocation, which was not illegal. The 20% dearness allowance of the government employees may be given out from the unexpected expenditure allocation, since the allowance was not announced in the current fiscal year’s budget, the official said.
The official also admitted that the Finance Division had allocated money for the Pay Commission in the budget announcement from the beginning of fiscal year. According to the Pay Commission circular, this allocation amounted to Tk2.51 crore.
Former adviser to caretaker government AB Mirza Azizul Islam said the government could not divert a fund that was specifically allocated, which would basically be a violation of the budget management act.
The Finance Division may have diverted the unexpected expenditure fund for payment of salaries and allowance in the Pay Commission if allocations were not made in the budget announcement, he said.
Last month, the government diverted a portion of Tk900 crore stock market refinance scheme to Bangladesh Commerce Bank Ltd (BCB) for issuing a rights share.
Of the amount, Tk67.5 crore was invested in Bangladesh Commerce Bank Limited, which issued one rights share of Tk100 against existing ones to increase its paid up capital.
