Implementation of the Annual Development Programme (ADP) in the first 11 months (July-May) of the current 2025-26 fiscal year has fallen to its lowest level in 16 years. Just 48.23 percent of the allocation was spent on development projects over the period, leaving ministries and divisions unable to spend even half the funds with the fiscal year nearly over.
The figures were given in an updated report published on Thursday by the Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) of the Planning Ministry.
According to IMED, the revised ADP for the current fiscal year was set at Tk 2,08,935.53 crore for the implementation of 1,359 development projects, including government financing as well as the funds of development partners and implementing agencies. Just over Tk 1,00,763 crore was spent on project implementation in the July-May period.
In the same period of the previous fiscal year, ADP implementation stood at Tk 1,11,005.73 crore — meaning spending has fallen by about Tk 10,242 crore this time. In the first 11 months of the fiscal year before that, development spending was Tk 1,46,375.50 crore. In other words, the pace of development activity has fallen significantly over two years. In the 2022-23 and 2021-22 fiscal years, spending was Tk 1,46,021.89 crore and Tk 1,00,387.90 crore respectively.
According to IMED, ADP implementation in the July-May period averaged 65 to 70 percent over the past decade and a half. This time the rate has fallen below 50 percent — the weakest progress in recent years. Even in the year of long Covid lockdowns, ADP implementation was higher: in the first 11 months (July-May) of the 2020-21 fiscal year, the rate was 58.36 percent.
The ministry- and division-level picture is also disappointing. Furthest behind is the Internal Resources Division, with an implementation rate of just 12.23 percent. The Commerce Ministry implemented 17.87 percent and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change 20.45 percent. The health sector’s position is also unsatisfactory: the Health Education and Family Welfare Division implemented 22.50 percent and the Health Services Division 25.87 percent. The 15 ministries and divisions with the highest allocations also lag in implementation, among them the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education at 35.18 percent, the Railways Ministry at 42.46 percent and the Road Transport and Highways Division at 46.23 percent.
The Ministry of Science and Technology, by contrast, tops development spending. Mainly because of progress on the Rooppur nuclear power plant project, its implementation rate stood at 83.33 percent. The Cabinet Division spent 82.53 percent, the Energy and Mineral Resources Division 79.48 percent, the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock 72.50 percent and the Food Ministry 68.41 percent of their allocations.
Officials and economists say the situation is driven by delays in project implementation, slow procurement, complications in releasing foreign aid and administrative weaknesses, along with a shortage of skilled manpower in project management. Despite large allocations, many agencies cannot spend the money on time.
They say a low rate of ADP implementation not only slows development activity but also has a negative effect on economic growth, job creation and the expansion of infrastructure. Efficiency and accountability in project approval, fund release and implementation must therefore be increased.
Although steps were being taken to boost spending in the final month of the fiscal year, those involved believe the overall implementation rate is unlikely to rise much, making clearer the trend of weak ADP implementation that has built up over several consecutive years.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report