Budgetary allocation for road infrastructure development work is likely to drop significantly in the upcoming fiscal year. This has made the sector players worried about deterioration of the country's road networks.
Sources said only six per cent increase in the budget allocation is likely for the road sector in the fiscal year (FY) 2015-16 which was over 35 per cent in the current fiscal year.
The Road Transport and Highways (RTH) Division, responsible for development of countrywide national and regional highways, placed a demand of Tk 57 billion for around 100 projects for the next fiscal year.
But sources said the Finance Division has so far assured providing an allocation of Tk 46.75 billion.
In the current fiscal year, the RTH Division was allocated Tk 46.06 billion but it finally received Tk 43.95 billion in the revised budget.
According to the ministry of finance and the Planning Commission, the road sector is likely to suffer due to poor allocation in the Annual Development Programme, decrease in road development projects and foreign aid.
A Planning Commission official said in many cases, the concerned department and agency under the division could not spend their allocated funds.
However, the RTH Division officials held completion of many projects and non-inclusion of new projects responsible for the situation.
Officials of the Roads and Highways Department (RHD), which gets the lion's portion of the division's budgetary funds, refused to accept this reason.
They said due to less priority given to the road sector, the RHD projects suffered and it could be found in the budgetary allocations during the last few years.
An official of the RHD planning section said, preferring not to be named, the number projects has decreased in such a way during the last three years that some circles do not have even a project to work on.
"When funds are not provided in time, the project will certainly suffer," he further said.
According to the ministry of road transport and bridges, 48 projects under the RTH Division will be completed in the current FY 2014-15 of which 47 belong to the RHD. It has also a target to complete 44 other projects in the upcoming fiscal year including 38 of the RHD.
The number of projects under the division was 115 during fiscal 2008-09 which reached the highest 168 during FY 2011-12. However, following massive deterioration of road conditions in 2011, the government decided not to undertake any new project.
Since then, the number of projects decreased to 100 this year with completion of 10 projects every year on an average.
At present, the RHD has 17 projects for Dhaka zone, 18 for Mymensingh zone, 06 for Chittagong zone, 10 for Sylhet zone, 10 for Khulna zone, 12 for Gopalganj, 05 for Barisal, 12 for Comilla, 13 for Rajshahi and 04 for Rangpur.
There are 17 other big projects under the RHD including Dhaka-Chittagong and Dhaka-Mymensingh four-lane projects and an ADB-funded project.
RHD officials said in the current fiscal only two big projects are likely to be included in the ADP.
Officials in the Finance Division, however, said budget allocation for the road sector has dropped due to decrease in project aid. They said Tk 20.10 billion was project aid for the sector which is likely to drop to Tk 11.67 billion.
However, a RTH Division official apprehended further deterioration of the country's road conditions like those of 2010 if allocation falls giving no due importance.
smunima@yahoo.com
Â