Govt moves to improve ADP performance

The government has big plans to speed up the implementation of the annual development programme this fiscal year, in the backdrop of poor performance last year.

A large ADP was undertaken last fiscal year, which was later slashed.

However, a major portion of the outlay could not be spent in the first 11 months of the outgoing year. Between July and May, implementation stood at Tk 55,317 crore, or 60.79 percent of the revised ADP. The size of the revised ADP was Tk 91,000 crore.

The performance was the poorest in the last five years. If the government has to implement the entire revised ADP, it will have to spend Tk 35,683 crore in a single month.

A planning ministry official said at best 90 percent of the revised ADP may be implemented, and for this to happen, more than Tk 26,000 crore will have to be spent.

Economists often criticise large expenditures at the end of the fiscal year, saying it wastes money.

At the beginning of the fiscal year, implementation works are usually delayed due to the monsoons, said planning ministry officials. But data shows that only Tk 4,000 crore to Tk 5,000 crore was spent in January-February.

The practice of spending most of the allocated money in the last month of the fiscal year has been going on for years.   Even in fiscal 2014-15, the planning ministry had taken several attempts to increase the implementation.

Officials at the finance and planning ministries said the government has taken steps to ensure that implementation gains momentum.

In the current fiscal year, a separate pool will be formed from where a project director will be appointed. Such an initiative was once taken in 2015, which did not materialise.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith, in his closing speech before the budget was passed in parliament on June 29, said some structural changes will be brought about in project formulation and implementation.

Muhith said the preparatory works will be completed before approval of the projects. For this purpose, Tk 100 crore has been allocated in this fiscal year's budget.

There will also be a provision to appoint a separate project director as one will not be able to focus on several projects; rules will be prepared for the purpose, he added.

A planning ministry official said project implementation is delayed due to complexities in land acquisition. Prior to approving a project, it will be ensured that the required land is available.

The size of the total ADP in the current fiscal year has been set at TK 110,700 crore, which is 21.64 percent higher than the revised ADP of the outgoing year.