Ministry asks RHD to swing into action as it may fail to meet ADP execution target

Performance of the ministry of communications is likely to be below expectation as usual in the execution of the annual development programme (ADP) this year as its prime budget recipient, Roads and Highways Department (RHD), has failed to meet its target of implementation until January. The ministry at a review meeting Monday found that only 30.31 per cent progress has been made by RHD until January, which is 10 per cent below its target. It fears about its continuation of this trend in the following month. According the RHD strategy paper, utilization of 40 per cent of allocated fund under the ADP was fixed for the period till January and 50 per cent, till February. The performance of the ministry was 23 per cent until February in the last fiscal of 2009-10, for which RHD has been blamed. Officials said cent per cent target of ADP achievement of the ministry is highly dependent on RHD's performance as it is the recipient of its 57 per cent budget in the current fiscal 2010-11. They said the ministry has taken the issue seriously and directed the RHD to put in the best possible efforts during the month of March to properly utilise the fag end of the dry season for execution of its development projects. "Most of the progress in roads and highway-related works is seen during dry season from November to March. So it is necessary to use the month of March fully to meet the cent per cent of the ADP target of the ministry," said an official. Without making any delay, the ministry has issued directives to the RHD's divisions, circles, zones and chief engineers' offices to complete evaluation works of the projects for which the tenders have already been opened, within the next seven working days in accordance with the Public Procurement Rules (PPR) 2008 and delegation of financial power. It also asked the department to complete all necessary works for those projects, whose tenders have not been called yet, and send relevant papers to the ministry for approval as soon as possible. "The issue is serious and the ministry will monitor the progress strictly," the directive added. The communications ministry is among the top 10 ministries, the performance of which has long been found inadequate against the ADP allocation. In the current budget, an allocation of Tk 754.9 billion was given both to Roads and Railways Division and Bridges Division from development and non-development budgets -- which was 26.6 per cent higher than the revised budget of the last fiscal.