Urban planners on Wednesday opposed the proposal of whitening black money in the budget for 2024–25, terming it contradictory to the spirit of the constitution of the country. 
 
The information was revealed in a press conference on the proposed budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 at the Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP) office at Banglamotor in the capital.
 
Speaking at the press conference, BIP vice president Syed Shahriar Amin said, “Whitening black money is contradictory to the spirit of our constitution because behind black money there is corruption. Corruption creates the black money.” 
 
He said, “Our economy is under pressure from corruption, and to get relief from the pressure, the government is imposing a tax on general consumers without considering its fairness.
 
The government is not taking loan defaulters, money launderers, and corrupts under transparency.” 
 
BIP President Adil Mohammed Khan urged the government to ensure parity among districts in disbursing the budget for development.
 
He said, “The government had taken the initiative to announce the district budget. It also announced the budget once, but has now backtracked from it. Because it may reveal a bitter fact, Dhaka is given a 30% budget while underdeveloped districts like Meherpur and Rangpur have much less.” 
 
BIP Joint Secretary Planner Tumzidul Islam said, “While making the allocation for a certain development, we first have to consider its output. We need that plan. If there were a plan for the entire country, the rationale for each project could be understood. We have no alternative to having that plan if we want to make the best use of our limited resources.”