Interest-free car loans for deputy secretaries

Deputy secretaries of the administration cadre are availing interest-free car loan facilities, while officials of the same grade in other cadres are deprived of this opportunity.

Senior officials such as secretaries, additional secretaries and joint secretaries are recognised as privileged government officials. Deputy secretaries were also included in this list last June. However, only the officials of the admin cadre have received car loan facilities so far.

Officials of no other cadres, including the education, health and economic cadres, have this privilege. This has created resentment. The authorities have not given them any assurance in this regard, even after their applications.

The finance division of the ministry of finance has said that the money allocated for this sector in the budget of the current fiscal year has finished after extending loans to 123 deputy secretaries. After that, another lump sum of Tk 300 million was allocated for 100 more officers last month.  Mohammad Muslim Chowdhury, the secretary in charge of the finance division, told Prothom Alo that the allocation in this sector would increase after the revision of current fiscal’s budget.

According to the finance division, AMA Muhit rejected the car loan proposal for the deputy chiefs of the economic cadre. Certain officials of Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) coordination committee told Prothom Alo, “Officers of public administration get extra facilities in all aspects.” But the finance division said, any decision regarding car loan was made only when the finance minister approved.

The public administration ministry formulated a gazette notification titled ‘Interest-free car advance and transport service encashment policy 2017 (revised)' on 25 August this year to provide loans for the privileged government officials.

According to the gazette notification, the officials, who want to avail the car loan, must remain in their post for at least one year after the loan is sanctioned.

They receive loans totalling Tk 3 million, which has to be repaid in 120 equal instalments in a period of not more than 10 years. Each instalment of the Tk 3 million loan will be Tk 25 thousand. The amount will be deducted automatically from their salary each month. But one can pay in one go, if so wanted.

This interest-free loan creates no extra burden as the government will pay a monthly allowance of Tk 50 thousand for the maintenance of the cars. The officers can sell the cars with government permission even before the completion of repayment.

*This report, originally published in Prothom Alo print edition, has been rewritten in English by Farjana Liakat