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“We see revenue targeting at absurd levels every year. When there is a shortfall in collection, development spending is cut because you cannot reduce operating expenditure,” Khan said. “It is a planning problem and reflects a lack of institutional capacity to attain the goals.”

He said delays in project implementation raise costs, compromise quality, postpone public services and often increase debt burdens, preventing the economy from receiving the intended benefits on schedule.

Razzaque said chronic under-implementation has become one of Bangladesh’s most persistent fiscal weaknesses. “Under-implementation has become an annual ritual, making ad hocism almost the rule of the game,” he said.

When only 80 percent to 85 percent of announced budgets are implemented year after year, expenditure projections are no longer anchored in realistic assessments of revenue mobilisation, project readiness, administrative capacity and procurement constraints, he argued.

Prof AK Enamul Haque, director general of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), agreed that planning weaknesses are part of the problem, but said practical bottlenecks also slow implementation.

Land acquisition remains difficult in a densely populated, land-scarce country, while public procurement procedures are often lengthy because governments must ensure transparency and accountability.

Haque also pointed to weak coordination among agencies. In sectors such as health and education, infrastructure may be built before the systems needed to deliver services are in place, leaving facilities underused.

Rather than focusing solely on how much money is spent, policymakers should shift from expenditure-based monitoring to service-based monitoring, he argued. “Ability to spend does not mean efficient service delivery. Expenditure-based indicators alone cannot ensure efficient service delivery to citizens.”