Targeting to boost revenue collection, deputy commissioners on Monday proposed formation of a separate revenue collection committee, headed by the local UNO at the district or upazila level. The DCs made the proposal in the presence of the Prime Minister’s Economic Affairs Adviser Dr. Mashiur Rahman, during a session on the 2nd day of the conference at the Cabinet Division, Bangladesh Secretariat.
Talking to newsmen after the session, the Adviser said that the National Board of Revenue considered the proposal positively, but asked for more details about it before implementation. The government has targeted Tk 3.77 trillion in revenue to run the state in its Tk 5.23 trillion budget for fiscal 2019-20. The NBR aims to collect a revenue of Tk 3.2 trillion out of the total amount.
Mashiur Rahman also said that the NBR representatives proposed to increase the manpower at upazila and district level for better revenue collection. “The deputy commissioners mostly raised and discussed the issues of loan or other funds sanctioned by the government, and how to utilise and quickly distribute the government fund for the benefit of people,” Rahman said citing details of the working session.
He opined that the DCs face problems regarding agricultural loans and credit for women entrepreneurs that needs to be addressed properly. “All of you know that the poor women in our country do not own a piece of land. Even if they have, they can’t use it without the consent of their father, brother or husband. Therefore, issuing small loans for women becomes tricky,” Rahman said.
He said the DCs also proposed to make the process easier so that the process of developing women entrepreneurship and their empowerment can be strengthened. Attending a separate session on Monday, the Liberation War Affairs Minister, AKM Mojammel Huq said, marking the celebration of the 'Mujib Barsha' his ministry has started to provide housing facility to the insolvent freedom fighters.
Under the project a total of 16,000 houses will be constructed and DCs have been given responsibility to supervise or monitor the progress of the work so that it can be ended timely. The minister said, conserving and reconstruction works of 342 liberation war related establishments under the project named, "Reconstruction and Conservation of Memorial Establishments of Liberation War' is going on, and the DCs have also been directed to monitor these works in their respective areas.
