ADP cut by Tk 3,000cr

The government has to slash Tk 3,000 crore from its development budget of Tk 38,500 crore in the current fiscal year due to its failure to implement projects.
It was disclosed at a high-level meeting with Planning Minister AK Khandker in the chair at his ministry yesterday.
Planning ministry officials said the size of the revised annual development programme (ADP) could be Tk 35,500 crore after deduction of Tk 3,000 crore from the foreign funds of Tk 15,300 crore.
The status of ADP implementation in the first six months of the current fiscal year was reviewed at the meeting. A planning ministry report showed the use of foreign funds went down by 23 percent while utilisation of local resources increased by 44 percent compared to the same period in the last fiscal year.
The share of local funds in the current ADP is Tk 23,200 crore.
A planning ministry official said different ministries wanted an additional Tk 6,000 crore in local resources instead of foreign funds.
The planning ministry wrote to the finance ministry to know whether the additional demand could be met. The finance division rejected the demand.
Planning ministry officials told the meeting that work orders for many projects were already issued, and a major portion of the ADP will be completed by April this year.
According to a planning ministry report, 80 percent of the ADP is related to procurement that involves Tk 24,105 crore.
Nearly 13,457 of 24,396 work orders were issued in six months until December last year, and contractors were paid Tk 4,858 crore.
Different ministries gave explanations at the meeting for not being able to utilise foreign funds.
The Bridge Division said the utilisation of foreign funds was low because of the delay in construction work of the Padma Bridge. However, the use of foreign funds will go up as the work is likely to gather pace in the next six months.
The social welfare ministry said different conditions imposed by the donors were one of the main reasons behind the low use of foreign funds.
The planning minister asked the secretaries of the ministries concerned to sit with the Economic Relations Division secretary, and take quick steps to utilise foreign funds.