NEC likely to approve Tk 88,000cr revised ADP today
STAFF REPORTER
The National Economic Council (NEC) is likely to approve today a Tk 88,000 crore Revised Annual Development Programme (RADP) for the current fiscal (2015-16), which is Tk 9,000 crore less than the original ADP of Tk 97,000 crore set out in the budget.
The RADP is going to be reduced by 9.27 per cent less compared to original Tk 97,000 crore due to delays in implementation, according to sources at the planning ministry.
Of the revised outlay, Tk 58,840 crore will be allocated from the government exchequer, while the remaining amount will come from project assistance. However, the total outlay of RADP, including the self-financed projects of autonomous bodies and corporations, will be Tk 90,890.26 crore.
According to the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) of the planning ministry, the implementation rate of the ADP, including the self-financed projects, during the first eight months (JulyFebruary) of the current fiscal year reached only 34 per cent, with an overall expenditure of Tk 34,674 crore. This implementation rate is 4 per cent less than that of the JulyFebruary period of the last fiscal yearamounting to 38 per cent with an overall expenditure `1of Tk 32,385 croreas per the latest statistics provided by the IMED.
On March 3, the first pre-budget meeting for the upcoming fiscal year was held at the National Economic Council auditorium in the capital. Finance minister AMA Muhith observed in this meeting that the implementation rate of ADP in the current fiscal year is the lowest for the last seven years of the AL-led government.
The finance minister said the government plans to formulate a separate budget for transformational mega-projects in the next fiscal year.
Were planning to prepare a capital budget for the mega-projects. This will start with four or five projects in the first year, he added.
The minister also said that the government should go for transformational projects with expenditure running into billions of dollars.
He further said that the budget for the upcoming fiscal year will be about Tk 340,000 crore, which is 15 per cent higher than the current years budget.
The planning ministry will hold an extension meeting today to finalise the outlay of the revised ADP to be placed in the meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC).
The transport sector will receive the highest allocation in RADP with Tk 19,639.77 crore, followed by the education and religious sector with Tk 9,901.74 crore.
Other major allocation receivers include the power sector with Tk 15295.71 crore; physical planning, water supply, and housing sectors with Tk 9,507.35 crore; rural
development institution sector with Tk 8,119.75 crore; agriculture sector with Tk 4,284.34 crore; and the health, nutrition, population, and family welfare sectors with Tk 5406.97 crore.
