According to the working papers of the budget management committee meeting of the public safety and security services department of the Ministry of Interior, one helicopter will be delivered in July and another in August by the supplier JSC Russian Helicopters.

At the beginning of the next financial year, the air wing of the police headquarters is going to get two Russian Mi-171A2 helicopters. Necessary funds are also being allocated in the budget for the upcoming financial year 2024-25 to pay the cost of the two helicopters.

According to the working papers of the budget management committee meeting of the public safety and security services department of the Ministry of Interior, one helicopter will be delivered in July and another in August by the supplier JSC Russian Helicopters.

Earlier, on November 19, 2021, the police headquarters in Dhaka signed an agreement to purchase this helicopter. At that time, the police headquarters announced in a press release that two Mi-171A2 helicopters will be purchased from JSC Russian Helicopters. Earlier, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs held on October 6, 2021 approved the purchase of these helicopters.

But later, due to various reasons including Corona, Russia-Ukraine war, complications in dealings with Russia after the war, the Russian supplier could not supply the two helicopters to Bangladesh despite the agreement.

191 crore in the budget of the current financial year 2023-24, which is also in the revised budget, has been allocated by the government to pay for the purchase of these helicopters. But due to non-availability of helicopters, this allocation is being transferred to the budget of the next financial year 2024-25. Along with this, there will also be an additional allocation to pay for the helicopter.

Additional DIG (Transport) of Bangladesh Police Saroar Morshed Shamim said in the budget management committee meeting of Public Security Department held on April 27 that the Russian supplier company will deliver one helicopter next July and another in August. That is why he requested to transfer the allocation in the revised budget of the current financial year 2023-24 to the budget of the next financial year.

This aviation wing of the police was formed in 2021 to play an important role in remote areas communication, various operations and rescue operations. The acquisition of two helicopters marks the first addition of aviation to the wing.

Capacity building of emergency services

An official related to the budget of the Public Security Department said that in addition to the purchase of Bangladesh Police helicopters, allocation is being kept in the next financial year's budget for the development of their institutional capacity.

The official also said that the capacity of National Emergency Service 999 will be increased. The use of this service by the common people of the country is increasing regularly. That is why 48 crore rupees are being allocated in the next financial year's budget.

This additional allocation is for the purchase of arms, ammunition, security equipment, motor vehicles, intelligence security equipment, information and communication technology equipment, wireless devices and computer software in the next budget.

Budget on smart law enforcement

Apart from this, there is a separate allocation for Smart Border Surveillance of Border Guard Bangladesh. There is an allocation in the next budget to increase the technical capacity of Bangladesh Coast Guard to strengthen coastal security. Overall, there is an initiative to form a smart law enforcement force in the next budget.

According to the working papers of the budget management committee meeting, a total budget of 26,837 crore rupees is being proposed for the public safety department in the next financial year. Out of this, the operating budget is Tk 25,129 crore and the development budget is Tk 1,708 crore.

17,355 crore of operating budget will be spent on Bangladesh Police.

In the current financial year 2023-24, there is an allocation of Tk 16,637 crore in the operating budget for Bangladesh Police. And for the financial year 2024-25, the operating budget for Border Guard Bangladesh is proposed to be Tk 4,277 crore.

Besides, an operating budget of Tk 2,192 crore has been fixed for Ansar and VDP Directorates.

Ansar, due to VDP

According to sources in the Public Security Department, the allowances that the representatives of Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defense Force are supposed to get for performing duties with the police in various police stations, outposts, temples and government KPI-affiliated institutions have been outstanding since 2018. As a result, many kinds of problems are being created in the performance of Ansar members.

On behalf of the organization, it is proposed to allocate in the budget for the payment of this arrears. However, the total outstanding amount was not mentioned in the budget allocation. Money will be allocated for this arrears in the management budget of Bangladesh Police.

Budget of Department of Defense Services

Meanwhile, an allocation of Tk 4,163 crore has been proposed for the security services department in the budget for the financial year 2024-25. Out of this, Tk 2,651 crore has been proposed to be allocated to the operating budget and Tk 1,542 crore to the development budget.

Security Services Department will expand fire service and ambulance services of Civil Defense Directorate under the development budget. At the same time, expansion and modernization of drug addiction treatment centers along with e-passport and automatic border control system will be launched and various prison construction projects will be implemented.