The government is going to empower the ministries to approve development projects costing up to Tk 500 million at their own discretion to cut the time spent in their approval process, officials said on Wednesday.
The Ministry of Finance has taken the move to enhance the project-approving capacity of the line ministries, they added.
However, development analysts and officials concerned have strongly criticised the government's new move. They have opined that such discretionary power may affect the country's fiscal discipline, facilitate misuse of public funds, and create mess in the development arena.
Currently, the Planning Commission (PC) approves all the development projects under the Annual Development Programme (ADP), except the technical assistance (TA) ones. The line ministries can only approve the TA projects, having a maximum cost of Tk 70 million.
"If the government allows the ministries to approve projects worth up to Tk 500 million, the agencies concerned will have scopes to misuse public funds. They will split the big projects into several small ones to keep cost of each project within the Tk 500 million-limit for endorsing by themselves," said a top government official.
"This will be like a criminal investigating crime against himself," he said, requesting anonymity.
Currently the ministries or divisions send a project proposal to the PC for scrutiny. Thereafter, it places the proposal before the Project Evaluation Committee (PEC), formed with 12 representatives from the related government agencies. If PEC endorses the project, it is placed before the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for getting final approval.
In this process, a development project is cross-checked before its implementation, the top government official added.
Development analyst Dr Zaid Bakht said the government's move to allow a ministry to approve Tk 500 million-cost projects will not bring any good for the country, as the line ministry's planning cell does not have enough capacity to look into the project nitty-gritty.
"The minister is all in all in the ministry. So, in most of the cases, there is a possibility of giving approval to those projects, which the minister will desire."
"Besides, if the ministries approve their own projects, there will be no check and balance in taking up as well as implementing the projects. Thus, there will be possibility of misuse of public funds," he told the FE.
In this regard he preferred strengthening the Planning Commission, so that it can scrutinize the projects in line with the national perspective plans and development plans as well as considering the national interests.
Member of General Economics Division (GED) Prof Dr Shamsul Alam said the PC scrutinises the projects of the ministries as a third party, and applies its "third eye" before giving the final approval.
"The PC evaluates a project's cost, economic and financial feasibility, national importance, alignment with the country's perspective, five-year development plan and many other issues. If the ministries become the approving authority, who will supervise the projects before approval?"
The government should better work to overcome loopholes of the PC, if any, and strengthen its capacity for approval of the development projects within the shortest possible time, Prof Alam said.
He also suggested the government to strengthen capacity of the planning wing of the line ministries, which still lack capability to prepare project proposal as well as oversee project work and ensure financial discipline.
The GED chief said Bangladesh has a plan of emerging as a middle-income country by 2021. So, the development work should be on the basis of national interest through making alignment with the development strategy.
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