Circuit houses get tight spending caps

The government has cut the expenditures of circuit houses in 63 districts as a part of exercising austerity to cope with the mounting pressure on the country's economy due to the fallout of the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war .

The Ministry of Public Administration on Tuesday issued an order to the district deputy commissioners (DCs) fixing component-wise allocations for the circuit houses.

The government has cut the expenditures in different sectors, said KM Ali Azam, senior secretary of the ministry.

"The measures have been taken to practiseausterity," he told The Daily Star.

Earlier, the ministry issued a set of directives to field-level administration on practisingausterity regarding spending from their allocated budget.

In 2022-23, the MoPA has cut the expenditures for refreshment allowance, stationery and usable goods in circuit houses to Tk 3.61 crore, down from Tk 5.96 crore in the last fiscal year, documents show.

The expenditures under other components remain unchanged, show the documents.

The order signed by Masudul Hasan, joint secretary of the ministry's budget management branch, said approvals will not be given for exceeding the allocation limits.

The DCs were asked to keep expenditures within the allocation limits and refrain from accumulating arrear bills.

They were also directed to closely monitor the payment of monthly utility bills of circuit houses. "Budget implementation plans should be adopted at the beginning of the fiscal year and the tendency of spending money hastily at the end of the fiscal year needs to be avoided," the order reads.

The public administration ministry has also asked the DCs to follow theFinance Division'sJuly 3 directives on austerity measures.

According to the directives, maximum 50 percent of the allocation for refreshment and stationery can be spent in case of any emergency.

On the first working day of the current fiscal year on July 3, the finance ministry in three notices rolled out a "cocktail of austerity measures" for all ministries and divisions, saying following those directives can save about Tk 60,000 crore.

The instructions came after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on June 29 urged everyone to practise austerity.

The government proceeded with the move in the face of strained foreign currency reserves, rising global and domestic inflation and continued jitters surrounding the Russia-Ukraine war.