Energy Bangla

The government plans to divert budgetary allocation set aside for fuel oil subsidy to implement the pay hike for public servants from next July.
Finance ministry officials said plummeting fuel oil price in the international market had created scope for saving a large portion of the subsidy meant for fuel oils.
Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation acting chairman A M Badrudduja said the corporation made a profit of Tk 48.15 crore, first time in almost a decade, after a barrel crude oil slid to $50 at present from $110 last June.
The BPC’s profit is growing and crossed more than Tk 500 crore since February, helping the government trade off the adverse impact of protracted blockade enforced by the mainstream political party BNP for fresh election, in the area of revenue earning.
Finance ministry officials said the government was motivated to implement the pay hike.
An additional Tk 30,000 core would be required to double the existing pay as suggested by the 8th national pay and service commission, headed by former Bangladesh Bank governor Mohammad Farashuddin.
The finance ministry officials pointed that they could make up at least one fourth of the additional requirement by saving from the subsidy.
The total subsidy for the BPC, the country’s lone petroleum products importer and supplier, was earmarked at Tk 2,400 crore.
Besides, a big portion of power subsidy could be saved from the estimated bill for running rental power plants. Power subsidy has been earmarked at Tk 7,000 crore.
Bangladesh imports more than five million tonnes of fuel oils, including 1.3 million tonnes of crude for the country’s lone refinery-Eastern Refinery Ltd–in Chittagong. According to a rough estimate, the country could save $1.5 billion to $2 billion from the import bill of fuel oils in the current fiscal which ends in June.
Meanwhile, the secretary-level scrutiny committee for the proposed pay hike got another four weeks to submit its recommendations.
Committee chief Muhammad Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, also cabinet secretary, said they would complete the recommendation by April 15.
He said they needed a couple more meetings to give the proposal a ‘final touch.’
Officials said the committee might suggest for further hike at the entry-level and might propose for implementing the hike in two phases.
The current pay was implemented by the present government in three phases.