Resource crunch, poor performance force govt to trim ADP by 15.09pc

FE Team | Published: February 20, 2008 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

Shakhawat Hossain
Resource crunch and poor performance have forced the government to trim the current annual development programme (ADP) by 15.09 per cent to Tk 225 billion, source said Tuesday.
The original ADP size was Tk 265 billion for fiscal 2007-08.
The decision on the ADP cut was taken at the national resources committee meeting with finance and planning adviser Mirza Azizul Islam in the chair early this month.
The ADP implementation rate during the first half of the fiscal is a record low as only 21 per cent of the target was achieved during July-December period.
The government is facing problems to bear the import cost of fertiliser and food items with the budgetary allocation worth Tk 65 billion due to price hike of the commodities in the international markets.
This is causing additional pressure on the fiscal management, said finance and planning adviser Mirza Azizul Islam.
Situation has become worsened following losses of rice worth US$ 600 million rice due to successive floods and devastating cyclone Sidr, and more than a double-digit inflation.
Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) senior director Zaid Bakth said the government should drop unnecessary projects from the ADP.
Instead of funding unnecessary projects, he said, the government should divert the fund to social safety net and food for work programme.
The planning ministry has yet to complete the selection of projects that will be omitted from the ADP.
"We will complete the selection of projects after receiving the official ADP size," said planning secretary Zafar Ahmed.
Sources, however, said projects financed fully by the local resources will be omitted from the revise ADP to ensure maximum untilisation of foreign aid under the donor funded projects.
In that case, sources said, the contribution of foreign funds may increase to 57 per cent in the revised ADP.
In the original ADP outlay, the contribution of local and foreign resources was Tk 137.00 billion and Tk 128.00 billion or 51.70 per cent and 49.30 per cent respectively.
Last fiscal, ADP was cut by more than 16 per cent to Tk 216.00 billion.