The extra expenditures were made in around 60 sectors under 44 ministries and departments. Of them, 14 ministries needed the money for development schemes.

"Budget revision is nothing new in Bangladesh. During the Awami League regime, the government used to demand even bigger supplementary budget," said Finance Minister M Saifur Rahman in his concluding speech in the House on the supplementary budget.

He reported that the Tk 51,980-crore original budget for fiscal year 2003-04 ultimately came down to Tk 49,360 crore.

"Overall expenditure during the current fiscal has declined, but expenditures by some ministries have increased for one reason or other," the finance minister told the House.

As rationale of the supplementary budget, he observed, "It is the constitutional obligation of the government to get any extra expenditure made by any ministry passed by parliament."

With this approved additional budget, this year's revenue expenditure has grown by Tk 1,892 crore and development spending by Tk 845 crore.

Of the sum, health and family welfare ministry has spent the highest, Tk 335 crores, for development purposes.

As revenue expenditure, the home ministry alone claimed Tk 242 crore, besides spending another chunk of Tk 50 crore for development work. The defence ministry this year spent Tk 243 crore extra as revenue expenses and Tk 1.38 crore for development purposes.

These two ministries are followed by education ministry with an additional spending of Tk 237 crore, water resources ministry Tk 153 crore, primary and mass education ministry Tk 129 crore, telecoms ministry Tk 123 crore and disaster management and relief ministry Tk 100 crore.

The Prime Minister's Office also spent Tk 16.6 crore over its original allocation.

In case of additional development expenditures, the industries ministry spent Tk 206 crore and local government and rural development ministry Tk 147 crore.