Expenditure from the Fund
5. (1) The cost of administering the Fund and the salaries and allowances, if any of the Commissioners, Inspectors, Welfare Officers and other staff appointed to supervise or carry out measures financed from the Fund shall be defrayed out of the Fund, and shall be apportioned between and debited to the housing account and the general welfare account in such manner as may be prescribed.
(2) The Government may out of the general welfare account of the Fund pay annually grants-in-aid to such of the mine owners as maintain to the satisfaction of the Commissioner dispensary services of the prescribed standard for the benefit of labour employed in their mines, so however that the amount payable as grant-in-aid to the owner of a mine shall not exceed-
(a) such proportion of the duty recovered in respect of the mineral dispatched from the mine less the proportionate cost of recovery as the Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, fix, or
(b) the amount spent by the owner in the maintenance of the dispensary service, as determined by the Commissioner,
whichever is less:
Provided that no grant-in-aid shall be payable in respect of any dispensary service maintained by the owner of the mine if the amount expended thereon, as determined by the Commissioner, is less than eighty Taka per mensem.
(3) The balance of the moneys in the general welfare account of the Fund shall be applied by the Government to meet expenditure incurred in connection with measures which are in the opinion of the Government necessary or expedient to promote the welfare of the labour employed in the mining industry.
(4) Without prejudice to the generality of sub-section (3), the moneys in the general welfare account of the Fund may be utilised to defray-
(a) the cost of measures for the benefit of labour employed in the mining industry directed towards-
(i) the improvement of public health and sanitation, the prevention of disease, the provision and improvement of medical facilities, including the provision and maintenance of dispensary services in mines the owners of which do not receive grants-in-aid under sub-section (2);
(ii) the provision and improvement of water-supplies and facilities for washing;
(iii) the provision and improvement of educational facilities;
(iv) the improvement of standards of living, including nutrition, amelioration of social conditions, and the provision of recreational facilities;
(v) the provision of transport to and from work.
(b) the grant to [* * *] a local authority or the owner, agent or manager of a mine of money in aid of any scheme approved by the Government for any purpose for which moneys in the general welfare account of the Fund may be utilised;
(c) the allowances, if any, of the members of the Mines Welfare Board and the amounts debitable to the account under sub-section (1); and
(d) any other expenditure which the Government directs to be defrayed out of the moneys in the general welfare account of the Fund.
(5) The Government shall publish annually in the official Gazette an estimate of receipts into and expenditure from the general welfare account of the Fund together with a statement of the accounts and report of the activities financed during the previous year from the general welfare account of the Fund, and shall forward copies of such statement and report to the members of the Miners Welfare Board.
(6) The moneys in the housing account of the Fund shall be applied by the Housing Board to defray-
(a) the cost of erecting, maintaining and repairing housing accommodation for labour employed in the mining industry and of providing services and facilities connected therewith;
(b) the cost of preparing schemes, and of acquiring any land required, for the purposes referred to in clause (a);
(c) the grant, subject to the previous approval of the Government, to [* * *] a local authority or the owner, agent or manager of a mine of money in aid of any scheme approved by the Housing Board for the purposes referred to in clauses (a) and (b);
(d) the allowances, if any, of the members of the Housing Board and the amounts debitable to the account under sub-section (1); and
(e) any other expenditure which the Government directs to be defrayed out of the moneys in the housing account of the Fund.
(7) In May of each year the Housing Board shall submit to the Government a statement in the prescribed form of the estimated receipts into and expenditure from the housing account of the Fund for the ensuing financial year together with a report of the activities financed during the previous year from the housing account of the Fund, and may at any time during the ensuing financial year submit to the Government a supplementary statement and shall forward copies of such statements and report to the members of the Miners Welfare Board.
(8) The Housing Board shall comply with such direction as the Government may from time to time think fit to give in respect of expenditure from the housing account of the Fund.
(9) The Housing Board may invest moneys in the housing account of the Fund in securities of the Government [* * *] in other securities.
(10) The Housing Board shall cause to be maintained such books of account, and prepare an annual statement of accounts in such manner, as may be prescribed.
(11) The Housing Board shall cause the housing account of the Fund to be audited annually by an auditor who shall be a chartered accountant within the meaning of the [Chartered Accountants Order, 1973 (P.O. No. 2 of 1973)] and as soon as the said account has been audited the Housing Board shall forward copies thereof together with copies of the report of the auditor thereon to the Government and to the members of the Miners Welfare Board.
(12) The Government shall have power to decide whether any particular expenditure is or is not debitable to the housing account or the general welfare account, of the Fund, and its decision shall be final.
(13) Before incurring any expenditure from the Fund other than expenditure of a routine or urgent nature, the Government or, as the case may be, the Housing Board shall consult the Miners Welfare Board.