Government employees are likely to receive a dearness allowance, hinted Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed. He said the matter is being actively considered and there is a fair possibility of its implementation, though it may take some time. “We need to work out when and how much we can provide. A committee has been assigned the responsibility,” he said.

He made these remarks on Tuesday (May 20) while responding to questions from journalists following a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Government Purchase at the Secretariat.

When asked what to expect regarding dearness allowance in the upcoming budget, the Finance Adviser replied, “I won’t comment on that right now. We are working on it and reviewing the matter. It’s under active consideration. A committee has been given the responsibility; they are working on it and will submit their findings to me.”

In response to the question “Will there be a dearness allowance?”, he said, “There’s a fair chance. It may take a little time. I’ll work it out in the budget—when and how much we can give.”

Regarding the possible amount, he stated, “I can’t say that now. If I do, then everything will be revealed.”

When asked about the possibility of a 10-15% allowance, he said, “I’m working it out. Once it’s finalised, it will go to the Cabinet and be approved by the Chief Adviser. You’ll know then.”

Journalists mentioned that due to the delay in approval, many government employees have been feeling somewhat disappointed. In response, Salehuddin said, “There is no reason for that. We are considering it.”

When asked if this could be considered good news for government employees, he said, “There’s no need to say anything like that right now, but we are considering it.”

In response to questions regarding the impact of halted exports through land ports and possible government action, he said, “I’ll discuss the matter with the Ministry of Commerce today. I can’t say anything immediately—they will come to me for discussion.”

When told that the National Board of Revenue (NBR) officials are scheduled to meet him this afternoon, he replied, “I won’t say anything about the NBR. And I won’t allow the NBR to speak to the ministry either. If you cover anything from them, I’ll take disciplinary action. When I was at Bangladesh Bank and spoke with bankers, I clearly instructed that no banker or chairman should speak about the central bank.”

He added, “During Atiur Rahman’s tenure, we saw chairmen making public statements like ‘I did this, I did that.’ I won’t allow that. If the NBR wants to speak, they must do so outside officially.”

Regarding the meeting of the Advisory Committee on Government Purchase, the Finance Adviser said, “In today’s meeting, we approved the urgent import of several products, including LNG.”