Chief Adviser Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed asked the ministries to issue work orders for all procurements against development projects under the current ADP by December this fiscal aiming to implement those in time, an official said.
"Against the backdrop of poor ADP implementation in the last fiscal 2007-08, the Chief Adviser at the last meeting of ECNEC (Executive Committee of the National Economic Council) gave the direction so that the projects in the current year's ADP are implemented on time," a official of the planning ministry said Monday.
The last meeting of the ECNEC was held on July 15 which was presided over by its chairman Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed.
All the project executing agencies in the government implemented 82 per cent of the total revised annual development programme (RADP) during fiscal 2007-08.
Realising the poor implementation rate, the government in the last quarter of fiscal 2007-08 trimmed down the ADP by Tk 40 billion from Tk 265 billion to Tk 225 billion.
In the current fiscal 2008-09, the government allocated Tk 256 billion in implementing 876 projects under the ADP.
In the last ECNEC meeting, the Chief Adviser also instructed the ministries to be cautious in taking up new development projects in future. He asked the ministries to undertake projects only after examining those minutely and confirming funds, the official of the planning ministry said.
The planning ministry official said the Chief Adviser was critical of the project implementing agency which issued work order to a contractor for constructing a village road in May of the last fiscal saying how could the work be started in the rainy season.
When some members of the ECNEC raised reservation about the public procurement rules (PPR) 2008, the chairman of the ECNEC Dr. Ahmed indicated that rules could be amended if needed, he said.
The indication of the Chief Adviser came when an adviser in the meeting said that senior officials in different ministries face difficulties in implementing the development projects due to some cumbersome provisions in the PPR and auditing system of the government.
Some secretaries in a high-level meeting of the government last fiscal also alleged that the PPR was hampering the timely implementation of the development projects.
