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Parliament committee ignores judiciary concerns over budget cut

The parliamentary budget review committee Tuesday has ignored concerns to press ahead with the proposed budget cut for next year.

Maldives judiciary had said the proposed budget would not even cover remuneration of judges and employees next year.

Department of Judicial Administration (DJA) in a budget report said it had proposed a smaller budget of MVR475 million for next year.

But the proposed state budget which made its way to the parliament floor had slashed the budget by MVR100 million.

However, the committee passed to press ahead with the budget cut after its majority shot down a motion to summon DJA officials to hear their concerns over the budget.

The report also noted that with an elections year ahead, the country's judiciary needs to be on standby.

The country is gearing up to hold the local council elections in January next year.

The judicial department pointed out that it needs at least MVR378 million just to cover the salaries and allowances of its staff which includes judges and magistrates.

The report also warned that the significant budget cut could bring the archipelago's judiciary to a complete standstill highlighting that it had faced a MVR3 million budget short-flow even this year.