Govt moves to speed up development projects

• From today all project directors can release the first instalment of the government fund allocated to their projects

From today all project directors can release the first instalment of the government fund allocated to their projects, in a development that is expected to accelerate development work.

Previously, the project directors needed approval from the concerned ministry or division, an exercise that took two to three months, said the statement from the finance ministry.

An amended guideline on the release of development fund has already been issued by the finance division last week.

The project directors can use the money of the first two instalments -- for July-September and October- December periods -- at a time without any permission, according to the amended guideline.

For the third instalment (January to March) the concerned ministry or division will need to give the approval.

But if the funds for the third instalment are needed before schedule, consent from the finance division would have to be taken.

The ministry or division will release the fourth instalment with prior consent of the finance division.

If the project needs the release of four instalments at once, consent of both the planning ministry and finance ministry would be required.

In case of land acquisition the funds can be released at once.

The decision to revamp the guideline for project funding came in May at a high-level meeting of the budget preparation committees, which was presided over by Finance Minister AMA Muhith.

The meeting observed that every year there is a shortage of funds for revenue budget implementation, whereas on average 17 percent of the funds for development budget remains unused.

The ministries and divisions cite various reasons, one of which is the delays in releasing the money.

In the first 11 months of the just concluded fiscal year, only 62.81 percent of the total allocation for the development budget has been used, which was 64.72 percent a year earlier.