Staff Reporter :
The autonomous, semi-autonomous and local bodies across the country numbering 130 owe a total of Tk 355,000 crore to the government.
Of them, the amount of expired money is 1.94 lakh crore and the total amount including interest now stands at Tk 1.61 lakh crore, while the total arrears have increased to Tk 54,000 crore in one year, according to multiple sources.
Some companies have not been able to pay the arrears for a long time. As a result, the arrears are increasing every year.
Among the outstanding lists, Bangladesh Power Development Board is the topmost in the arrears’ list. As of June 30 last year, the amount owed to the company is Tk 91,010 crore. Dhaka WASA, which is in the second position, owes Tk 51,367 crore, according to sources in the Finance Ministry.
Multiple sources said that the expenditure of various government institutions has been increasing due to rampant corruption, excessive political influence, excess manpower and inefficiency in management.
According to experts, reforms are necessary to increase efficiency in these institutions and if the efficiency of the institutions is increased, as a whole, there will be big changes in the revenue sector of the government.
It will also reduce the dependency on the budget deficit, the experts opined.
According to the Economic Survey of the Ministry of Finance, the total arrears of the government till June 30 last year were Tk 3.55 lakh crore. The amount is about Tk 10,000 crore more than the government’s target for total tax collection in the current financial year.
Besides, the outstanding amount is 82 percent of the total revenue target for the next financial year. It is possible to build 12 bridges like Padma Bridge with the outstanding money, the experts said.
The arrears, however, were Tk3.1 lakh crore in the previous year, till June 30, 2020. It has been increased by Tk 54,000 crore in one year, sources said.
According to the Finance Ministry sources, out of the total arrears of the government with various organizations, the amount of expired money is Tk1.93 lakh crore.
The total principal amount is now Tk 64,415 crore, while the total interest amount stands to Tk 96,296 crore, the Finance Ministry sources said.
As a single entity, the government owes Tk 91,010 crore only with the Power Development Board. It has not been paid expired services money out of the guarantees
given against their various loans. The Power Development Board has to provide a lot of money as loans to implement power projects in the country.
However, the arrears of Dhaka WASA stands at Tk51,367 crore, while Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation Tk 29,792 crore, Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation Tk 15,067 crore, Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Resources Corporation Tk10,204 crore, Power Grid Company Tk 47,066 crore, Bangladesh Jute Mill Corporation Tk 7,212 crore, Rural Electrification Board Tk 14,936 crore, Dhaka Power Distribution Tk 7,286 crore, Bangladesh Steel Engineering Company Tk 2,083 crore, DESCO Tk3,505 crore, Electricity Generation Company Tk 3,402 crore, Ashuganj Power Supply Tk 2,635 crore, Northwest Power Generation Tk 4,676 crore, Coal Power Generation Company Tk 4,689 crore, Sundarbans Gas Company Tk 437 crore, Gas Transmission Company Tk 2,341 crore, Bangladesh Gas field Tk 3,522 crore, Bangladesh Inland Shipping Authority Tk 1,410 crore, Bangladesh Bridges Authority Tk 1,520 crore, Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation Tk 1,041 crore, Bangladesh Bank Tk 8,477 crore, Bangladesh Infrastructure Development Company Tk 9,393 crore, Biman Bangladesh Airlines Tk 2,072 crore, Dhaka City Corporation Tk 497 crore, Chittagong WASA Tk 6,107 crore, Bangladesh Telecommunication Company Limited Tk 2,818 crore and Khulna WASA owes Tk 2,478 crore.
The government’s arrears with these organizations are longstanding and 54 percent of the total arrear money has already expired.
Besides, 55 municipalities are also in arrear list across the country too.
