New Pay Scale Needs Fresh Commission for Reconsideration: Dr. Debapriya

Economist Dr. Debapriya Bhattacharya has said that the new government should form its own commission to reconsider and implement the new pay scale, rather than directly accepting the recommendations of the previous government’s pay commission.

He made the remark on Tuesday (31 March) morning at a pre-budget media briefing titled “Citizen Thoughts and Expectations on the Budget” organised by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) at its Dhanmondi office in the capital.

Dr. Debapriya said the previous government had left the responsibility of implementing the pay scale initiative — taken at the end of its term — on the shoulders of the current government. This has created a kind of “prolonged liability,” which in many cases is unfair, he commented.

“The current government should form its own commission to consider this issue. The previous pay commission report can be taken as one element in the process. They do not have the scope to accept it unquestioningly,” he added.

Emphasising the need to bring back laundered money, he said: “Stolen money must be brought back. Assets seized inside and outside the country should be quickly sold through legal processes and the money brought back home.” Referring to the recent return of Tk 44 crore from abroad, he questioned: “Small amounts are coming back, but why are the big amounts not returning?”

On increasing revenue collection, he said that if political commitment and administrative obstacles can be overcome, revenue income can be raised. He believes that due to the lack of political power, the interim government could not make much progress in this area. However, the first year is the most important time for the newly elected government. He warned that if the desired progress is not achieved in the first year, it will become difficult to do so in the last year.