Mizanur Rahman
The Tk 80,315 crore Annual Development Programme (ADP) for the current fiscal year will be downsized to a Tk 72,000 crore one, posting a 11 per cent cut in the original allocation.
According to Planning Commission officials, this revised ADP will be placed in the National Economic Council meeting tomorrow for its approval. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will preside over the NEC meeting.
"The revised ADP now awaits NEC nod," Planning Minister AHM Mustofa Kamal told the Daily Observer.    
However, the number of projects in the revised ADP has been raised to 1,197 from 1,187.
The Planning Minister is upbeat on achieving the target of timely implementation of the projects at the end of this fiscal year, despite the persisting political unrest in the country. "We expect a cent per cent project implementation," he said.
In FY 2013-14, the ADP was cut to Tk 60,000 crore from Tk 66,000 crore. However, at the end of the previous fiscal, Tk 56,000 crore was spent, officials at the Planning Commission said.
On the revised ADP of this fiscal, Shofiqul Azam, acting Secretary of Planning Commission said, "There is a pressure from different ministries to raise the ADP size. But resource constraints are there."    
Another official said the ministries and divisions showing better performance will get enhanced allocation, not those who do not fare well.
As per the revised allocation, the transport sector will top the list with the highest 23.66 per cent. The government also plans incorporation of some road and transport projects in the revised ADP, which are likely to be implemented under public-private partnership (PPP).
The projects include construction of the Dhaka-Chittagong expressway, the Dhaka western bypass and the elevated expressway from `Oxygen Mor' to Hathazari in Chittagong.
Despite criticism, the number of projects always goes up in the revised ADP, and there is no exception this time, too.
Every year, the ADP allocation is slashed because of the failure of the ministries in spending resources in time. In the first seven months of this fiscal year, 32 percent of the ADP money was spent, down from 33 percent in the same period a year earlier.