The Planning Ministry has identified several challenges hampering the implementation of the Annual Development Programme (ADP), including flawed project formulation, a shortage of skilled project directors, weak feasibility studies, inconsistent data, and delays in land acquisition and utility relocation.
These issues were discussed at an inter-ministerial meeting held on Wednesday, with Planning Adviser Dr Wahiduddin Mahmud in the chair. Secretaries from various ministries and divisions attended the meeting.
At the meeting, Dr Mahmud emphasised the need to address the core challenges at the project preparation stage to ensure smoother execution.
Expressing disappointment, he noted that project implementation progress in some ministries, including Health and Education, remained among the lowest.
"Lack of competent project directors hampers development activities. Since there are no additional incentives, honest officials are often reluctant to take up the role of project director," Dr Mahmud told The Financial Express after the meeting.
To address this, he said that project directors for large foreign-funded projects would now be appointed on lien or deputation, with additional benefits, in a move to attract more capable officials.
The meeting reviewed the ADP implementation performance for the last fiscal year and outlined measures to overcome existing obstacles in the current financial year.
Documents presented at the meeting revealed that the Planning Commission has proposed several recommendations, including strengthening capacity at agency level, allocating dedicated budgets for Development Project Proposal (DPP) preparation, and assigning focal persons early who may later be appointed as project directors.
"These measures are expected to reduce time and cost overruns and ensure quality project design," the documents noted.
To address the shortage of skilled project directors, the commission proposed creation of a PD Pool, introduction of certification courses on planning, public financial management and PPR-2008, alongside incentive schemes, performance awards, and clear policies for appointment and transfer of project directors.
The issues of weak feasibility studies and data gaps would be addressed by engaging skilled professionals or institutions for high-quality feasibility studies, making independent peer reviews mandatory, and ensuring the inclusion of demand forecasts, market surveys, risk assessments, and environmental and social impact studies in feasibility reports, the commission suggested.
To mitigate delays in land acquisition and utility relocation, the Commission suggested undertaking separate projects for acquisition and relocation. It also recommended requiring ownership verification, acquisition plans, no-objection certificates (NOCs), and environmental clearance before project approval.
Other proposals include preparing realistic Development Project Proposals (DPPs) with time-bound action plans and alternative strategies for season-dependent projects; mandatory inclusion of climate risk assessments and adaptation measures; and linking projects with national and international research outputs to ensure sustainable outcomes.
To improve monitoring and coordination, the commission recommended establishing IMED offices at the district and divisional levels, strengthening inter-ministerial coordination, and making it mandatory for ministries to act on IMED's in-depth monitoring and evaluation findings.
The Planning Commission observed that overall implementation of the Revised ADP (RADP) in the last fiscal year was Tk 1.53 trillion, or 67.85 per cent of the Tk 2.26 trillion allocation, the lowest in more than a decade.
The RADP implementation in the previous five years ranged between 82.11 per cent and 92.74 per cent.
The health sector showed the weakest performance while the Health Education and Family Welfare Division spent only Tk 3.51 billion, or 15.36 per cent of its Tk 22.83 billion allocation.
The Health Services Division used Tk 12.34 billion, or 21.74 per cent of Tk 56.74 billion allocation.
The Primary and Mass Education Ministry spent Tk 74.33 billion, or 58.23 per cent of its Tk 127.64 billion allocation, leaving Tk 16.1 billion unspent.
Dr Wahiduddin Mahmud observed that the practice of executing nearly half the ADP in the final quarter of the fiscal year is "unacceptable", and urged line ministries to frontload implementation.
"The economy does not stop at the beginning of the fiscal year. Budgetary allocations are ready-there will be no excuse for delays," he said.
He also emphasised the need to assign project formulation tasks to officials with relevant academic or professional backgrounds in economics, trade, project and planning, suggesting that frequent transfers of officers without the required expertise have weakened project preparation.
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