Glut of project proposals for inclusion in RADP

It is quite interesting that ministries and divisions under them in the fresh tenure of the government have approached the Planning Commission (PC) for inclusion of umpteen project proposals in the revised annual development programme (RADP). A staggering number of 1,600 projects has been proposed for inclusion and needless to say that the PC is overwhelmed by the enormous number of proposals. An official of the PC did not try to hide the policy institution's consternation, as the report carried in the FE indicates, at this surfeit of development proposals. One of the reasons may be the new faces in the cabinet, who think they have a right to put forward their plans and schemes. But this is midway of the annual development programme (ADP) that had been undertaken at the beginning of the financial year 2023-24. There is not unlimited space for accommodation of projects midway in the fiscal year.
It is plain and simple that revision of the ADP is necessitated on the ground that some projects did not follow the scheduled work plan or others are no longer as promising as they initially looked. In this context, a highly important criterion is the results of evaluation of the projects in the pipeline or were supposed to be undertaken but could not somehow be started. According to a panning ministry report, implementation of the ADP in the first quarter of the FY 2023-24 fell to the lowest ever in eight years at only 7.5 per cent. The trend of low execution of ADP improved marginally but it still was at 17.06 per cent, against lowest in the past eight years. There are projects galore but when it comes to their implementation, it is abysmally poor. Now if revised projects are overwhelming, the metaphor that describes the situation properly is chewing more than what one can swallow.
Better it would be to ensure that projects are pragmatic and can be implemented well in time. Abandoning projects midway or delayed implementation on revision of financial estimates with overhead and other costs exceeding the original ones has become an entrenched culture here. This cannot be encouraged anymore, particularly at this time of financial crunch. The prime minister herself has reiterated her resentment at this negative attitude several times without becoming successful in rolling the juggernaut on the right course. There is no surprise that the mismatch between projects and their implementation even encourages people at the grassroots level to go for what can be termed aberration of development such as bridges in the paddy field with no roads on either side and use of substandard construction materials that come off the road surface within days or months of construction.
No wonder that ministries and divisions are less interested in foreign-aided projects which have several shoestrings attached to those. Compared with those the locally funded projects are not subjected to stricter monitoring and evaluation and also left with room for manoeuvrability. So, there lies the motivation behind the glut of project proposals. The PC is sure to have a tough time to select the projects that deserve prioritised consideration. Let the PC not bow to the undue political pressure for projects without merit.