Prime Minister Sheikh Ha-sina yesterday directed officials to remove all hurdles to ADP implementation and monitor the projects closely for expediting their execution, reports UNB.

She gave the instructions when the National Economic Council (NEC) reviewed the ADP performance of last fiscal year. The project-implementation rate was 89 per cent under the revised Annual Development Programme.

The achievement level is 92 per cent of the original ADP. The original ADP was Tk 13.600 crore which increased to Tk 14000 crore in the revised size.

Presiding over the NEC meeting at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the afternoon Prime Minister Hasina expressed satisfaction over the overall ADP performance. officials said. At the same time, she directed officials concerned to expedite the work and upgrade their quality for further accomplishments.

The meeting yesterday discussed in detail the impediments to ADP implementation and suggested means of ovei-coming the problems.

Despite the longest-lasting devastating floods last year, the ADP implementation was better than that of previous years. Planning Secretary Abdul Hamid Chowdhury and IMED Secretary AKM Anisur Rahman told newsmen after the meeting.

The meeting was told that Tk 12,509 crore of the revised Tk 14000 crore ADP had been spent during the year 1998-99, which was Tk 1.472 crore more than the previous years.

The implementation should be perfect and mainly targeted to poverty alleviation." the Prime Minister told the officials asking them to supervise strictly all the ADP projects.

Official sources said in 1997-98 original ADP was Tk 12800 crore and revised ADP Tk 12200 crore while in 1996-97 the original ADP was Tk 12500 crore and revised Tk 11700 crore.

A total of 1329 projects under the ADP were approved for year 1998-99. the officials said, adding that in the original ADP the number of projects was 1216.

Total 82 per cent of the projects were approved in the year 1996-97, while 82 per cent in 1997-98 and 84 per cent in 1998-99.