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ADP remains uncut on political exigency

REJAUL KARIM BYRON
The government has decided not to reduce the size of this year's Tk 22,000 crore Annual Development Programme (ADP) mainly because of political exigency, planning ministry sources said.
However, the foreign currency
component of the ADP will be slashed by Tk 1,000 crore, which will be supplanted by increasing the local currency component by an equivalent amount.
The local currency component of the ADP was originally set at Tk 14,575 crore and the foreign currency component Tk 7,425 crore.
The local component has been increased in view of demands from lawmakers who want more allocations ahead of the general elections. Flood rehabilitation needs also increased the outlay.
The decision not to reduce the ADP size was taken at a meeting of the planning ministry with Finance Minister M Saifur Rahman in the chair last week. On May 25, the proposal will be placed before the National Economic Council (NEC).
The planning ministry also finalised a Tk 24,000 crore ADP for next fiscal year, which will also be placed before the NEC for its approval.
Ministry sources said the government foresees no resource problem despite a six percentage points shortfall in revenue collection, as it still has leeway in borrowing from banks, which is way behind target.
The government has retarded Tk 371 crore to the banks as of March while it has the provision of borrowing Tk 2,599 crore.
"So, the government can comfortably borrow in the coming months to meet the resource need," said a planning ministry official.
"Besides, the government is expecting about Tk 2,000 crore ($300 million) by June from the World Bank in budgetary support," he added.
Traditionally, the government revises down its ADP outlay as the ministries fail to fully implement the programme.
In the last nine months up to March, the government could implement only 46 percent of the ADP.
Now the officials themselves are not very sure if the rest 54 percent could be implemented in the rest three months of the fiscal year.
"This decision means the government agencies will go on a spending overdrive and will not have adequate time to justify expenditures. As a result, the quality of the projects will fall," said a planning ministry official.
At a pre-budget with Saifur last month, lawmakers demanded at least Tk 1 crore allocation for each of their constituencies considering the elections ahead.
The last year's ADP was revised to Tk 19,000 crore by slashing it down from Tk 20,300 crore. But ultimately the government could spend Tk 16,796 crore.