Instead of telephone and Internet bills being paid by the offices concerned, from now on the government is going to provide monthly cash allowance to the bureaucrats who are supposed to get the facility. Like other allowances, the bureaucrats will get “telephone and Internet allowance”, sources in the public administration ministry said.

At the same time, the government has decided to provide Tk. 50,000 to privileged senior officials, like secretaries, and ministers and state ministers for buying mobile phone sets, the sources added.

All the facilities would be provided to the bureaucrats under the proposed “Government Telephone and Internet Policy 2017”, which is under scrutiny by the public administration ministry.

The proposed “Government Telephone and Internet Policy 2017” is going to be finalised by amending the “Combined Government Telephone Policy 2004”.

A senior official of the Cabinet Division told The Independent that the public administration ministry submitted a draft of the “Government Telephone and Internet Policy 2017” at a recent meeting of the secretary committee on administrative improvement affairs.

“But the committee did not approve the draft as it needs more scrutiny,” the official said.

The official informed that the secretary committee asked the Cabinet Division to  further scrutinise the

proposal by forming a sub-committee headed by the industries secretary. “The committee also asked the sub-committee to submit its report before the committee within 15 days,” the official said.

Justices of the High Court and the Supreme Court and police officers have been included in the draft as “privileged officials”. The amount to be given as telephone and Internet allowance has also been specified.

As per the draft, the additional secretary or joint secretary or joint chief or director general, additional director general or chief of any directorate or additional IG or divisional commissioner and other officials equivalent to Grades 2 and 3 will get Tk. 3,800 as telephone bill and Tk. 2,800 as Internet bill in cash.

A deputy secretary or deputy chief or adviser or private secretary of minister and state minister or additional commissioner or assistant inspector general of police and officials of Grade-4 will get Tk. 2,650 as phone allowance, but will not get any allowance for Internet.

Deputy secretary or director of Jatiya Sangsad (Parliament) or director of the Anti-Corruption Commission/ Human Rights Commission will get Tk. 2,650 as phone allowance and Tk. 2,000 for Internet. The private secretary of the Jatiya Sangsad secretariat or PS of the Chief Election Commissioner and public relations officials (PROs) will get Tk. 1,425 as phone allowance and Tk. 1,200 for Internet as per the draft. At present, deputy secretaries and PROs in different ministries and divisions are not getting their Internet bills paid by the respective offices.