Finalise action and procurement plans of all projects by Oct 31: PC

FHM Humayan Kabir The Planning Commission (PC) has set October 31 as the deadline for formulating action and procurement plans of the ongoing projects under the development budget, by all ministries, officials said Monday. The deadline is meant for streamlining project implementation. "We have asked the ministries to finalise action and procurement plans for all projects under the annual development programme (ADP) within this month," a senior commission official said quoting an official directive. The PC has also directed the project implementators in the public sector to ensure their stay at the sites to ensure their proper and timely execution. Since the project implementation rate during the first two months of the current fiscal was unsatisfactory, the ministries have been directed to take steps for strengthening project execution capacity, the PC officials said. During July-August of the current fiscal 2011-12, the project implementation agencies could spend only six per cent of Tk 460 billion outlay in the ADP of the current fiscal. The government has undertaken 1039 projects under the current development budget, allocating Tk460 billion to upgrade the country's infrastructure, improve the situation in social sectors and cut the poverty.The senior PC official told the FE that the commission had sought the action and procurement plan from the ministries. "In accordance with the action plans, we will review the projects of the ministries on a quarterly basis so that we can ensure better ADP implementation in every quarter of the current fiscal, 2011-12," he said. The government ministries have meanwhile been instructed to prioritise the unapproved fresh projects for which no specific fund allocations have been made in the current ADP, in order to get the approval of the government. "The ministries will have to prioritise the fresh projects in the current year, considering their merit in the light of the vision of the sixth-five year plan," the planning official said. The PC has also asked the ministries to monitor development activities by their high officials visiting the project sites frequently. Furthermore, the commission has also instructed the ministries through its directives to take up foreign aid-supported projects expeditiously, stating that it will give high priority for approval of such projects by the highest government authorities. "We will encourage taking up donor-supported projects as the government does not have adequate domestic resources to fund them," the PC official said. Currently, most ministries and agencies send government-funded projects to the PC for seeking approval which is very difficult for bankrolling them from the internal resources, he said. Besides, the government is facing some problems to finance the ongoing and urgent projects due to shortage of its funds, the official added. Meanwhile, a PC analysis said the ongoing and planned projects under the current ADP will require Tk870 billion funds which is Tk 410 billion higher than the actual Tk460 billion ADP outlay, for implementation. According to the Commission, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council has so far approved nearly 25 fresh projects. And some 250 fresh ones are awaiting approval in the current fiscal that will end in June 2012.