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Record unapproved projects plague ADP

Rejaul Karim Byron
A record 38 percent of the schemes under the new Annual Development Programme (ADP) are unapproved ones, in blatant contradiction to the recommendations made by Public Expenditure Review Commission (Pere).
Most of these were incorporated in the ADP not based on national priority but due to pressure from lobbyists and powerful individuals, sources say. A number of the unapproved projects arc also very old, including some decade old ones carried over for years.
Such a high ratio of unapproved projects in the ADP also indicates that the government ignored the Pere report, in which it had advised against such schemes, as they lead to wastage and lackrelevance.
Like the-previous years, the government this year will okay some of these unapproved projects, while a majority of them may not be considered at all by the approving authorities concerned, yet a good chunk of money will be spent against them, a Pere member apprehends.
At the first meeting on the new ADR the Executive Committee on National Economic Council (Ecnec) yesterday okayed 12 unapproved projects involving Tk 1,275 crore
includingTk753 crore as project aid.
With a total allocation of Tk 22,000 crore, this year's ADP has a total of 1,199 projects, with 455 unapproved projects.
The last year's ADP had 416 such schemes. Despite hard efforts of the government, more than one-third of those unapproved projects could notbeokayed.
Among this year's unapproved projects, there are 330 new unapproved ones with a block allocation ofTkI,812crore.
Besides, there are 125 unapproved old projects with a total ofTk 1,817-crore allocation. In the past, the government spent Tk8,380 crore against these projects without approval.
"Because of this way of handling such projects for years, they lose relevance or priority by the time the government tables them for approval,” the Pere said in its report in December last. "But the government is compelled to finally approve them."
Because of the high number of unapproved project, a Pere member terms this year's ADP a hoax. "The main ADP shows 869 projects. But, side by side, it kept 330 new unapproved projects, Therefore, from the face of it, it appears there are fewer unapproved projects, which isnot at
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all true," the Perc member said preferring not to be named.
"The government will not spend on them on the basis of national priorities, but based on the strength of the lobbyists behind those projects," he added.
A planning ministry report in May also echoes the Perc member, "We are faced with different types of lobbying and pressure to spend money for unapproved projects. As a result, the normal pace of development is disturbed and the planning order is swayed."
A look into the ADP exposes how an irrelevant unapproved project can make the nation pay years after years.
For instance, a project to set up a research centre for spices was added in the 1994 ADP as an unapproved project with a financial requirement of Tk 47 crore. Until December last, the country paid Tk 23 crore and the new budget allocated another Tk 5.5 crore for it. But, at the current rate of implementation, it will not be completed before 2014.
Another is the soil research and testing centre construction that required Tk 64.66 crore and was incorporated as an unapproved project in the 1998 ADP. So far Tk 19 crore has been spent for it and Tk 15 crore has been allocated this fiscal.
Another striking example is inclusion of Tk 327-crore Bangladesh Land Administration Reforms Project in 2002. The government so far spent only Tk 9 lakh for this costly project and this year has allocated only Tk 10 lakh for it.
A Tk 37-crore unapproved project to build a bridge across the Garai River in Kushtia was added in the
ADP in 1996 and so far the government has spent Tk 11 crore. This year the government allocated only Tk 26 lakh for it.
There are many similar construction oriented projects being carried over for many years, leading to wastage and hike in project implementation costs.
"These spending shows a tendency not to complete the tasks but to keep the projects hanging for years. Actually the sums were spent as per the strength of the lobbyists -- contractors, politicians and other people who squeeze out the cash in anyway they can," said a planning ministry source.
"If these projects are important, why don't the government approve them even after so many years?" he asked.
The Perc had recommended forming an expert committee to review the projects conceived by different ministries to see if these have national priority and poverty alleviation elements.
But presently, a cell of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) which looks after priority projects are reported to basically respond to requests and pressures of ruling party lawmakers and businessmen who want implementation of certain projects for their personal or local political benefits, sources said.
The PMO cell sends these projects to line ministries and the ministries then send these projects to the planning ministry for incorporation in the ADP as unapproved 'priority projects'. Thus this year the lobbyists have succeeded in incorporating the record number of 330 new unapproved schemes in the ADP, the planning ministry source explained.