The BNP’s international affairs secretary, Asaduzzaman Ripon, also a candidate for Dhaka south city mayor in the suspended elections, addresses a press conference at the National Press Club in Dhaka on Friday. — New Age photo

Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Asaduzzaman Ripon on Friday said that the budgets of the two city corporations for the new fiscal were not ‘citizen friendly’.
Ripon, BNP’s international affairs secretary, said at a press conference that the city corporations should be run by elected representatives rather than administrators.
‘Two unelected administrators announced the budgets. So they have no accountability,’ he said and demanded immediate elections to the Dhaka north and south city corporations.
The conference on budgets and citizens’ expectations was organised by Dhaka Unnayan Andolan at the National Press Club auditorium in the city.
Asaduzzaman Ripon, also a candidate for Dhaka south city mayor in the suspended elections, said according to the budgets of Dhaka north city corporation and Dhaka south city corporation, revenue income decreased from market rents and salami by Tk 37.5 crore, trade licence by Tk 1 crore, advertisements by Tk 50 lakh and community centres by Tk 1.30 crore.
Revenue spending increased in travel and transport costs by five times, hospitality and festival costs by Tk 1.20 crore, waste management by Tk 14 crore, maintenance by Tk 5.25 crore, and fuels for vehicles by Tk 8.3 crore while revenue spending in  health sector in DSCC decreased by Tk 1 crore, he added.
He also said that in 2011-2012 fiscal year, the city corporation’s budget allocation for welfare sectors had been fixed at Tk 7.85 crore while the total allocation for the two city corporations in this FY stood at Tk 6.2 crore.
None of the two city corporations have announced any plan to set up new primary schools in the city which proved that the education sector was the most neglected, Ripon said.
He also said citizens should have opportunity for criticising and discussing the budgets of the DNCC and DSCC.
The two Dhaka city corporations announced their budgets for 2012-13 on July 5. The DSCC announced a Tk 1781.68 crore budget and DNCC a Tk 1966 crore budget.
The total budget for the two city authorities stands at Tk 3747.68 crore which is Tk 1032.68 crore higher than that of the last fiscal.