The government has taken a cautious approach towards development budget spending this time around as it has incorporated less fresh projects in the upcoming Annual Development Programme (ADP) than in the past, officials said on Saturday.
In the newly approved ADP for the next fiscal year (FY) 2022-23, the government has enlisted 783 fresh but unapproved development projects without allocation of funds.
Besides, the government has also incorporated only 40 unapproved development projects with allocation in the next year's ADP.
The unapproved projects without fund allocation are a list of the schemes which are the additional ones of the 1,356 projects in the newly approved ADP for the next FY2023.
The National Economic Council (NEC) on May 17 approved a Tk 2.46 trillion ADP, allocating funds to some 1,356 projects.
On the other hand, the government incorporated a significant number of 188 fresh but unapproved projects with allocations in the Revised ADP for the current FY2022. Besides, it undertook 589 unapproved development projects without allocation of funds in the current year's Revised ADP.
Analysts said the fresh projects were mostly incorporated in the ADP or Revised ADP on political consideration.
As the national election is going to take place at the end of next calendar year, the ruling party will try to take different schemes, especially relating to infrastructure development, they added.
In the original Tk2.15 trillion ADP for the FY2020, the government incorporated 1,328 unapproved projects without fund allocation.
A senior Planning Commission (PC) official said they had been forced three months ago to incorporate the highest number of unapproved projects (188) in the approved Revised ADP for the current FY2022.
Besides, he said they were forced to enlist some 589 unapproved projects without fund allocation in the current year's Revised ADP, expecting funds from the government and external sources.
State Minister for Planning Dr Shamsul Alam said the government had decided to reduce the number of projects cutting the less priority ones amid the global financial crisis and the Ukraine-Russia war.
"Over the last few years, we usually take up 1,650-1,750 projects under the ADPs. But this year, the number in the next year's ADP has been reduced to 1,356," he said.
Dr Alam, however, said that the government would not reduce its allocation in the ADP for the priority projects and their implementation.
Planning Minister MA Mannan recently told journalists that they would not take small and less priority projects in the coming days as part of the cautiousness in budget spending.
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