10 ministries, divisions spent additional Tk1.30 lakh cr in FY25: Finance ministry

Ten ministries and divisions have spent an additional Tk1,30,512 crore beyond their original budgetary allocations in the ongoing 2024-25 fiscal year, according to the Supplementary Financial Statement placed by the Ministry of Finance.

These are Bangladesh Supreme Court, Bangladesh Public Service Commission, Finance Division, Financial Institution Division, Planning Division, Statistics and Information Management Division, Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division, Information and Broadcasting Ministry, Ministry of Water Resources and Ministry of Food.

The original allocation for all 62 ministries and divisions was Tk7,97,000 crore.

Of this, the ten ministries and divisions spent significantly more, raising their combined expenditure to Tk8,17,055 crore compared to their initial allocation of Tk6,86,543 crore.

In contrast, the remaining 52 ministries and divisions either stayed within their budgets or underspent.

The Finance Division topped the list in excess expenditure, using an additional Tk1,04,256 crore beyond its original allocation of Tk6,39,895 crore.

According to the document, the division's total expenditure with liability rose from Tk4,73,470 crore to Tk5,84,951 crore.

However, other expenditures declined to Tk1,59,200 crore from Tk 1,66,425 crore. Overall, the Operating Expenditure for the division rose to Tk7,38,745 crore from Tk6,33,983 crore, while its Development Expenditure dipped slightly from Tk5,912 crore to Tk5,406 crore.

The finance ministry said the additional allocation was required to meet internal liabilities, subsidies, and incentives.

The Planning Division stood second, spending an extra Tk20,199 crore.

As per the document, the Operating Expenditure for the Planning Division reduced from Tk96 crore to Tk83 crore in the revised budget.

The Development Expenditure for this division has jumped to Tk26,608 crore from Tk6,395 crore.

In total for the Planning Division, the expenditure increased to Tk26, 692 crore in the revised budget from Tk6,492 crore.

It said that due to 11 ongoing projects and one new project and set aside funds for 'Development Assistance for Special Needs'.

In the budget document titled 'Detailed Budget (Development)' it said that Tk10,771 crore will also be allocated for this 'Development Assistance for Special Needs' in the upcoming 2025-26 fiscal.

The Bangladesh Supreme Court will get additional Tk4.66 crore, Bangladesh Public Service Commission Tk Tk5.50 crore, Financial Institution Division TkTk 735 crore, Statistics and Information Management Division Tk 40.57 crore, Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division Tk6.99 crore, Information and Broadcasting Ministry Tk90.33 crore, Water Resources Ministry Tk1,490 crore and Food Ministry Tk3,681 crore from the Supplementary Budget to meet their extra expenditures.

Food Ministry, as per the supplementary budget document, needed the additional money to provide the necessary funds for the food subsidy and import through own resources due to the expansion of the OMS activities including TCB, and for one ongoing development project.

The additional fund for Water Resources Ministry will be used for 38 on going and 12 new projects, the document added.