The government will allocate a special fund for Rohingya rehabilitation in the upcoming 2018-19 fiscal year budget.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith confirmed the matter in a press conference held on Monday.
He said “We planned to allocate around Tk400 crore as special funds for Rohingya rehabilitation.”
The allocation is mainly for building shelters for Rohingya rehabilitation, according the Ministry of Finance.
However, an official of the Finance Ministry confirmed that total figure of the allocation for Rohingya rehabilitation is around Tk550 crore.
“Apart from the special allocation, concerned ministries may receive specific allocations to ensure health care, sanitation, and food supply, as per the budget proposal,” he added.
As a result the Ministries of Health, Disaster Management and Relief, and Food will get special allocations for Rohingya rehabilitation.
Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem, research director at Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) told the Dhaka Tribune: “The government should allocate funds for the Rohingya rehabilitation in the next budget.
“But if the government displaces funds from the social safety net for Rohingya rehabilitation, it could affect Bangladesh’s rural socio-economic status,” he added.
However, an official from the Ministry of Finance said the allocation for the social safety net will be increased this year.
“The government is putting emphasis on social safety net in this year’s budget,” he said.
The proposed budget will be announced on Thursday in parliament. The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) approved Tk2,312 crore for the Rohingya rehabilitation project to temporarily rehabilitate around 1 million Rohingya.
The project named “Ashrayon 3” is being implemented at Bhasanchar, a remote island near Hatiya of Noakhali district by Bangladesh Navy within the next year.
Around 100,000 Rohingya will be initially rehabilitated in Bhasanchar.
