PC to finalise dev budget today

The Planning Commission (PC) will hold today (Sunday) its meeting to finalise the development budget for the next fiscal. It has framed a Tk460 billion annual development programme (ADP) for fiscal 2011-12 with one of its basic goals to help upgrade the country's rickety infrastructure, officials said Saturday. Planning ministry officials said they have drafted a Tk460 billion ADP for the next fiscal, raising the allocations by 31 per cent from the current year's Tk351.30 billion outlay, to execute more than 1200 projects. "Presided over by the planning minister, the new ADP for the next fiscal is expected to be approved at Sunday's meeting of the planning commission," a senior planning ministry official told the FE. Out of the proposed Tk 460 billion development budget, the government will provide 273.15 billion support from its domestic resources and the rest of the amount, i.e. Tk 186.85 billion, is envisaged to come from external sources. The planning commission has decided to allocate more fund from the domestic resources -- 59 per cent of the total ADP outlay for the next fiscal in view of 'bloated' demands coming from different ministries and divisions for undertaking projects and schemes with local resources. Such ministries and divisions have placed demands for inclusion of externally-aided projects in the ADP for the next year having aggregate funding requirement for a lower amount of fund -- Tk 186.85 billion -- as external resources, accounting for 41 per cent of the total ADP outlay. The external resources are usually disbursed by the donors for specific development projects that are meant for utilisation by the implementing agencies as the project aid. The local government division is likely to get the highest allocations out of the ADP for the next fiscal. The planning commission has proposed nearly Tk 95.55 billion of development funds for this ministry, the officials concerned said. The problem-ridden power sector is expected to get a special focus under the next ADP with its allocation being proposed at Tk 71.75 billion to help improve the electricity supply situation. The communications ministry may get Tk 69.33 billion outlay under the forthcoming ADP for developing the transport facilities, the officials said. Furthermore, the planning commission has proposed an allocation of a Tk 24 billion fund for constructing the country's largest communication infrastructure project -- the Padma Bridge -- in the fiscal 2012. Under the ADP for fiscal 2011-12, the primary and mass education ministry is likely to receive its allocation at Tk 35.12 billion, health and family welfare ministry, at Tk 35 billion and education ministry, at Tk 21.43 billon, the sources said. The government had initially approved an ambitious Tk 385 billion ADP for the current fiscal. But its size was later downscaled to Tk 351.30 billion as the ministries and divisions could not improve their project implementation performance. Only 60 per cent funds under the current fiscal's Tk 351.30 billion ADP could be spent in the first 10 months (July-April) of the year. A top planning ministry official said: "Since the country needs to strengthen and expand its existing infrastructural facilities, we have prepared an ambitious development budget to help achieve an 8.0 per cent economic growth rate by 2015." If the planning commission finalises the ADP at its meeting today (Sunday), it will be placed before the government's highest economic policy-making body, National Economic Council (NEC), for its approval, leading to its inclusion in the national budget for fiscal 2011-12. The NEC is expected to meet in the last week of this month.