How RADP will impact development work

Downsizing the annual development programme (ADP) halfway in a fiscal year has been a routine practice in this country. This year is no exception to the rule. The original development budget of Tk 2.30 trillion in the current fiscal year has been pared down to Tk 2.0 trillion. Compared with the immediate past fiscal's (2024-25) cut by a record Tk490 billion, this year's trimming by Tk 300 billion is smaller. But this is cold comfort for a country now set on course of graduation from the least developed country (LDC)-status to a developing country. Although this fiscal's cut of 13.04 per cent midway through the year against the previous year's 18.5 per cent around this time looks better, there is unease about the implementation of the slimmer programmes. The elected government will be required to execute the revised annual development programme (RADP) in the four months right after assumption of power.

Now what compulsion is there for revising down the budget every year? At times it looks like jugglery with figures of funds allocated for ministries and divisions. It is galling that fund shortage is not always the reason for downsizing original outlays. More often than not, the inefficiency of the bureaucracy is to blame for slow implementation of projects. A report carried in this newspaper on Tuesday last says, quoting officials concerned, that absence of project directors and delay in appointment of new ones are reasons for slow progress of project implementation. These are lame excuses because thorough feasibility studies are required to be carried out before undertaking any large project. It is a hotchpotch situation in some of the top priority areas. Why should the need arise for withdrawal of a lion's share of allocations to the tune of Tk134.29 billion and Tk100 billion from health and education sectors respectively? These are not fundamentally new areas and therefore the administration should have started a reality check right from the beginning. As high as 73 per cent cut in the outlay for the health sector is likely to compound the already stressed health facilities' problems. The same is true for the educational institutions' capacity to provide young learners with quality education.

The combined impacts will be highly adverse. Reduction of the budget of the Health Services Division and Health Education and Family Welfare by 73 per cent and 77 per cent respectively will force postponement, if not cancellation, of setting up of cancer, kidney and heart treatment centres in eight divisions and establishment of 500-bed medical college and hospitals in Jashore, Cox's Bazar and Pabna. Then the 55 per cent reduction of education allocation will seriously impact the secondary and higher education. That the health sector failed to do justice to its allocation was repeatedly focused by the media to no effect. Thus development initiatives are likely to meet quite a reversal.

Other ministries and divisions have done better but yet fall far short of the targets. The transport and communications sector, the Power Division and almost every other ministry and division have suffered allocation withdrawal. But the cut on allocation for social-protection or safety-net programmes is likely to have calamitous impacts. This sector will have to do with Tk5.45-billion RADP allocation instead of its original budget of Tk20.18 billion. There was a need for increasing the social-welfare allocation in the interest of well-being of the poor, vulnerable and marginal people.