Over the years, the government has allocated about 9,000 tonnes of grains worth Tk 9 crore in emergency fund that the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs earmarked for different projects with the permission of the prime minister.

The ruling coalition also directed Deputy Minister of CHT Affairs Moni Swapan Dewan not to spend more than 25 percent of the cash allocation -- about Tk 1 crore -- in emergency fund on his own.

Moni Swapan can now only allocate Tk 25 lakh on his own and can spend another Tk 1.5 lakh out of his fund as deputy minister.

"The government seems to be limiting my power. Still, I have to carry out the job the prime minister has tasked me with. I cannot do anything without her approval," Moni Swapan told The Daily Star by phone last night.

The government reallocated 15,500 tonnes of grains for repatriated indigenous refugees in the FY 2004-2005 budget, which was withdrawn from the last budget.

With the permission of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, the deputy minister last year allocated the indigenous refugees 7,500 tonnes of grains from the emergency fund, as the refugees demanded.

"I had earlier implemented some income-generating small projects with grains for the poor of small ethnic communities in outlying areas. But I could not do anything last year, as it was spent on the indigenous refugees. This year all is gone," he said.

Other allocations for the CHT region remains the same -- 28,000 tonnes of grains for Bangla-speaking people in cluster villages, 2,100 tonnes for former guerrilla members of the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samity and 10,000 tonnes for the army in special fund.