ADP spending from govt fund on the rise

Development spending from the government's own purse rose in the first eight months of the current fiscal year while the use of the funds from the foreign aid portion of the budget fell.

Between July and February, Tk 42,979 crore, or 32.41 percent of the allocation from the government owned fund, was spent. It was Tk 33,654 crore, or 35.23 percent, in the same period a year ago, according to data from the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) of the planning ministry.

On the other hand, Tk 24,225 crore was spent from the foreign aid, which is 40.37 percent of the allocation. It stood at Tk 25,341 crore, or 41.94 percent of the allocation, during the same eight-month period in the last fiscal year.

Officials of the planning ministry said the implementation of the annual development programme (ADP) did not hit the target because of the delay in land acquisition.

As a result, the budgetary allocation from foreign aid will be shaved off by Tk 9,000 crore to Tk 51,000 crore now in the revised budget, a planning ministry official said.

The allocation stands at Tk 60,000 crore in the original budget. Between July and February, the performance of state-owned enterprises improved as they managed to spend Tk 3,568 crore or 45.34 percent of the funds they were initially allocated. The expenditure rate was 41.42 percent in the period a year earlier.

The ministries and divisions expended Tk 70,772 crore, which is 39.13 percent of the total ADP, IMED data showed. The spending rose 13.46 percent year-on-year.

To achieve the fund utilisation target, the ministries and divisions will, however, have to spend 61 percent of the allocation in the next four months – a mammoth task, the official said. The revised budget may set aside Tk 165,000 crore as the total ADP outlay, down from Tk 173,000 crore from the original budget. It does not include the funds set aside for the state-owned enterprises.

In the eight months, the standout performers in terms of ADP implementation were: the energy and mineral resources division (71.51 percent), the power division (56.84 percent), the science and technology ministry (67.04 percent), the local government division (47.58 percent), the shipping ministry (43.29 percent), the primary and mass education division (51.50 percent), the water resources ministry (31.80 percent), and the housing and public works ministry (47.17 percent).

The poor performers were: the railways ministry (14.66 percent), the bridges division (26.26 percent), the healthcare division (32.77 percent), the road transport and highways division (30.95 percent), and the secondary and higher education division (37.22 percent).