The government has incorporated nearly half the last fiscal's unapproved projects in the next annual development programme (ADP) as part of a cautious move amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
It has included 737 fresh unapproved development projects without allocation of funds in the newly approved ADP for the upcoming fiscal year (FY), 2021-22, officials said on Monday.
In FY 2021, the government incorporated 1,450 fresh projects without budgetary allocation.
The 737 unapproved projects are in addition to the 1,426 approved ones that attained allocations in the Tk 2.25-trillion ADP for FY 2022.
Of the unapproved schemes, 596 are incorporated expecting finance from internal resources while funds of 141 are expected from external resources.
"The Covid-19 impact has dissuaded the ministries to undertake a small number of unapproved projects," said a senior Planning Commission (PC) official.
"Besides, finance ministry's tight grip on fund release also deters them from taking a higher number of unapproved projects," he told the FE.
In a circular, it had allowed the ministries to spent 85 per cent of the allocated funds on their respective development projects.
To get the remaining 15 per cent, the ministries need to take prior approval of the finance ministry.
On May 18, the government approved the Tk 2.25-trillion ADP for 1,426 projects and also kept aside a Tk 38.54-billion bloc allocation.
Funds from block allocation would be disbursed against the unapproved projects upon their endorsement during the July 2021 to June 2022 period, PC officials said.
When asked, a senior official said the PC had included the new unapproved projects based on the priority lists from different ministries and agencies.
"Although the unapproved projects are included in the ADP, those won't be endorsed without following an entire project approval process," he told the FE.
"Each ministry has to conduct a feasibility study first before framing a development project proposal (DPP). We'll then scrutinise the DPP for approval with funds."
Meanwhile, the pandemic has failed to restrict public agencies in FY 2021 from the race of including unapproved projects in the ADP as nearly 1,450 were added to the tally.
The government included 1,347 fresh but unapproved projects of different ministries and agencies in the Tk 2.05-trillion ADP expecting funds from internal resources.
Ninety-six other unapproved ones were added to the ADP expecting project aid from bilateral and multilateral lenders.
Another PC official said they were forced to incorporate the unapproved projects under pressure from several ministers, parliamentarians, secretaries and influential people tied to the government.But this year, they received relatively less pressure, thus helping them to enlist realistic and priority unapproved projects in the ADP, he added.
Development analysts and public servants said most of the fresh projects are usually taken on political consideration, ignoring development priorities.
Coronavirus had dissuaded those ministries from including projects that do not have any feasibility study or importance at this moment, they added.
"Covid-19 has changed the country's development scenario. We need projects that have highest priorities, not less important ones," said a PC member preferring anonymity.
Since the ministries and divisions used to undertake fresh projects by going beyond their Medium-Term Budgetary Framework fund ceiling, many of them struggled due to fund shortages, he added.
Analysing the list of unapproved projects, he said the highest number came from roads and highways department, local government division, railways ministry, and rural development and cooperative division.
Another senior commission official said, "Many of the unapproved projects remain unimplemented every year due to inadequate budgetary allocations, proper feasibility study and design."
The projects are included without proper feasibility studies and design, and ultimately most of them are not approved or dropped from the list in the following year, he observed.
"In most cases, a few of such projects get allocation in the revised ADP or in the following year's ADP, thus raising costs from preliminary estimations."
The inclusion of a large number of new unapproved projects in the ADP cannot bring good results, the PC member added. Such practice puts additional pressure on the execution of the ongoing projects, he added.
