The implementation pace of government's development programmes has remained sluggish, with the Annual Development Programme (ADP) showing one of its lowest execution rates in the past five years. During the first four months of the current fiscal year, from July to October, the ADP implementation rate stood at only around 8%, the lowest figure in recent years, according to the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) of the Planning Ministry. Its data highlights that, in contrast, the same period last year saw an execution rate of 11.54%.  Specifically, for the period from July to October of the current fiscal year, the government managed to implement development projects worth Tk 21,978 crore, according to the IMED. The total ADP allocation for the fiscal year is Tk 2,78,288 crore, but the slow start raises concerns about the government’s ability to meet its targets. Moody’s downgrade doesn’t reflect economic progress since July upsurge: Bangladesh Bank Several factors, including government spending cuts, the political unrest during the July-August period, and the reassessment of large projects, have been cited as the main reasons for the drop in implementation rate, according to relevant officials. While the government is facing challenges in speeding up the execution of development projects, experts are urging for greater focus on overcoming delays in order to meet the targets set for the rest of the fiscal year.    

The government is taking a series of measures to enhance the implementation rate of Annual Development Programme (ADP) in an effort to overcome the lack of capability to use project funds and speed up the pace of development. Allocations for ADP in the budget have been increasing steadily over the years but challenges remain in implementing those. “That's why the government has taken an effective move to take the ADP implementation to a satisfactory level,” according to an official document. Steps being mulled by the government include introduction of IBAIS++ digital platform for all ministries and bringing massive reform in the disbursement of funds. From the last 2019-20 fiscal, project directors have been given the authority to disburse all four installments of government funds. The document said that these steps would help ensure the highest usage of project assistance besides playing an auxiliary role in resisting the misuse of funds in implementing projects. It noted that one of the main sources of creating capital in public sector is ADP. Also read: Ambitious ADP worth Tk 2.13trn on the cards ADP Implementation Over The Years The ADP implementation in 2013-14 fiscal was 91% against the revised budget of Tk 600 billion up from 86.6% in 2014-15 fiscal against the revised budget of Tk 750 billion. In 2015-16 fiscal, the revised budget for ADP was Tk 910 crore but the implementation was 88.9% whereas in 2016-17 fiscal the revised budget was Tk 1,107 billion but the implementation was 76%. In 2017-18 and 2018-19 fiscals, the revised budgets for ADP were Tk 1,483.8 billion and Tk 1,670 billion while the implementation rates were 80.6% and 88.2% respectively. Meanwhile, the preliminary allocations for ADP for 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 fiscals were Tk 658.7 billion, Tk 803.1 billion, Tk 970 billion, Tk 1,107 billion, Tk 1,533..8 billion and Tk 1,730 billion. This means considering the initial allocation for the ADP, the implementation will be much lower. In the 2019-20 fiscal year, the ADP implementation rate was 80.18% amid the Covid-19 pandemic that stalled all works in the country for a long time as the government enforced months-long general holidays to curb the spread of the virus. For the 2020-21 fiscal, the government had approved a Tk 2,051.45 billion ADP, but in March it was revised to Tk 1,976..43 billion.  

The progress rate of the Ministry of Land in the implementation of ADP is 14.64 percent, which is 1.85 points higher than the national progress rate of 12.79 percent.