The health ministry could spend only 58 per cent of the ADP allocation in the last fiscal year (FY), which was the worst among top 10 recipients of the development budget, officials said on Tuesday.
Although the government had given highest priority to health projects due to Covid-19 pandemic, the ministry was the worst performer, IMED officials said on Tuesday.
The Heath Services Division utilised only Tk 69.37 billion, 57.91 per cent of its Tk 119.79 billion ADP outlay for the last FY, they said.
The overall execution rate of the annual development programme (ADP) in FY2020-21 was 82 per cent, according to Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) data.
Meanwhile, the overall ADP implementation performance was better in the last FY compared to that of the previous FY2020 when the implementation rate was 80.18 per cent.
In the last FY2021, the government agencies spent a total of Tk 1.72 trillion out of the Tk 2.09 trillion ADP outlay, the IMED data showed.
Out of the spending, the public agencies utilised Tk 1.12 trillion from the government's internal resources, which is 83.17 per cent of the Tk1.34 trillion allocations.
They spent Tk 524.62 billion from the project assistance (foreign aid), 83.27 per cent of the total Tk 630 billion outlay, the IMED data showed.
Implementation of the ADP emerged as a big challenge for the country after the spread of coronavirus in the country since March last year.
The project implementation rate hit its lowest in two decades in the FY 2020, before registering a little better at 82.21 per cent in FY2021.
The Energy and Mineral Resources Division was on top of the list in terms of ADP implementation in the last FY2021 as it spent 104.27 per cent of the revised allocation.
The power division's implementation rate stood at 89.71 per cent.
Meanwhile, the Health Services Division, 5th largest budget holder, again disappointed the government as it could spend only Tk 69.37 billion, 57.91 per cent of its Tk 119.79 billion ADP outlay in FY2021.
In the last FY2020, the Health Services Division had also performed poorly as it utilised only 74 per cent of its total outlay.
Among the top 10 budget holders, the local government division utilised 81.44 per cent of its allocations, the agriculture ministry 97.52 per cent, the road transport and highways division 87.98 per cent and the railway ministry 84.97 per cent.
The government has framed a Tk 2.25 trillion ADP for the current FY2022.