Development spending lowest in four years

Development spending in the first quarter was the lowest in four years, even though the government has taken on a bigger budget for the purpose in fiscal 2015-16.

Between July and September, Tk 6,502 crore has been spent from the budget for the Annual Development Programme, down 7.43 percent year-on-year.

Some Tk 97,000 crore has been allocated for ADP this year.

Of the sum, 73 percent was allocated to ten ministries and divisions including the power ministry, and the bridges, and road transport and highways divisions.

The allocation for the bridges division this fiscal year is Tk 8,961 crore and a large chunk of the amount is for the Padma bridge -- the country's largest infrastructure project, which happens to be funded solely by the government.

In the first quarter, the bridges division spent Tk 390 crore, which is just 4 percent of the total allocation.

The spending in the same period last fiscal year was Tk 799 crore, which was 10 percent of the total outlay in fiscal 2014-15.

Shafiqul Islam, the Padma bridge project director, said the implementation in the first six months of the fiscal year tends to be slow due to the monsoon rains. For instance, the earth work cannot be done amid the rain, which was the case this year too.

The pace of work picks up in the second half of the fiscal year, he said, adding that the Padma bridge project is progressing as per the plan.

Not only had the bridges division, spending by the power division too dropped -- 31 percent year-on-year -- in the first quarter.

It spent Tk 540 crore, which is only 3 percent of its total allocation for the fiscal year.

In the same way, the road transport and highways division, which invariably asks for more allocation at the end of fiscal year, used up just 4 percent of its total allocation.

It spent Tk 247 crore in the first three months of fiscal 2015-16. Last fiscal year, it exhausted 6 percent of its allocation in the first three months.

An official of the division blamed the low spending on the higher rainfall this year.

The railways ministry spent 3.73 percent, the energy and mineral resources division 3 percent and the water resources ministry 0.3 percent of their allocations between the months of July and September.

The local government division spent 11 percent, health ministry 12 percent, primary and mass education ministry 12 percent, and education ministry 13 percent, during the period.