-Projects are: 34 buffer warehouses for fertilizers storage; rural infrastructure on priority; dewatering of Kapotaksha (2nd phase); switching & transmission network to strengthen digital connectivity.
- A total estimated cost Tk 9,663 Cr 81 lakh
- Tk 4K 7 Cr spent so far on 4 projects
- Dollar crisis is main reason for lethargy
The current interim government is in trouble with the development project of the previous Awami League (AL) government. One after another projects have been approved in spite of the financial crisis by AL. But due to financial crisis it was not possible to give money on time and as per demand. Again less was deducted from what was allotted. As a result, there is no speed in the implementation of four important development projects.
A total expenditure of Tk 9,663 crore 81 lakh was estimated for the implementation of those projects. So far Tk 4 thousand 7 crore have been spent on the projects. Now there is a fear of losing hundreds of crore of taka besides the need to increase the duration and cost of those projects. However, the project work would have been progressed a long ago if the allocation was made as per the requirement. But not even half of his money was received.
Contractors are also showing reluctance to work on various projects that have already increased the cost of goods. In this situation, the fear of increasing the cost of the project is increasing. This information is known from sources related to the Ministry of Planning.
According to sources concerned, if the projects were implemented on time, there would have been no need for revisions. But usually the cost increases as the project duration increases. The four important projects of the previous government were the construction of 34 buffer warehouses in different parts of the country to facilitate storage and distribution of fertilizers, development of important rural infrastructure on priority basis, de-flooding of Kapotaksha river (second phase) and switching and transmission network development project to strengthen digital connectivity.
According to sources, the important rural infrastructure development project was to be implemented between July 2020 and June 2024 on a priority basis. But instead of that, the term has been extended till June 2026 through the first amendment which has been extended by two years.
The original cost of the project was Tk 6 thousand 476 crores 65 lakhs. Later, through the first amendment, the expenditure was increased to Tk 6 thousand 526 crore 55 lakh. In that project, the money was not given as per DPP (Development Project Proposal). Along with that, the allocation was not met according to the demand. Till last April, Tk 3 thousand 413 crore 28 lakh has been spent under the project, which is 52.30 percent of the total allocation. Moreover, the physical progress has been 52.48 percent.
The project was not implemented as planned in 4 financial years from FY2020-21 to FY2023-24. The main reason for this was that it belonged to the 'B' category (the finance ministry had earlier divided all projects into A, B and C categories due to the financial crisis). As a result the allocation is very less. Apart from this, the Kapotaksha river dewatering (phase II) project was to be implemented between July 2020 and June 2024.
But as of last April, the physical progress of the project stood at 66.17 percent. The total expenditure under the project is estimated at Tk 531 crore. Against this, Tk 186 crore 51 lakh has been spent so far, which is 35.12 percent of the total allocation. In the financial year 2020-21, the allocation for DPP was Tk 214 crore 56 lakh. But the discount has been Tk 1 crore, which is 0.47 percent of the total allocation. In addition, in the financial year 2021-22, the allocation was Tk 210 crore 58 lakh, against which the expenditure was Tk 53 crore 66 lakh.
This is 25.48 percent of the total allocation. In the fiscal year 2022-23, the allocation was Tk 99 crore 90 lakh, the expenditure was Tk 79 crore 97 lakh which is 80.05 percent of the total allocation. In the fiscal year 2023-24, the allocation was Tk 97 crore, the expenditure was Tk 51 crore 86 lakh which is 53.46 percent of the total allocation. It can be seen that Tk 622 crore have been allocated under the project in different financial years. On the contrary, Tk 205 crore 91 lakh has been discounted, which is 38.77 percent of the total allocation.
Sources also said that the switching and transmission network development project to strengthen digital connectivity was to be implemented between January 2019 and June 2022. But later the period was extended till December 2024. The original sanctioned expenditure for its implementation was Tk 155 crore 38 lakh. Later, the expenditure was reduced to Tk 123 crore 42 lakh. Tk 85 crore 6 lakh have been spent till last April, which is 68.92 percent of the total allocation. Implementation of Tk 38 crore 36 lakh or 31.08 percent in the remaining 8 months will be a tough challenge. And the construction project of 34 buffer warehouses was supposed to be implemented between 2018 and June 2025. Its total cost is Tk 2 thousand 482 crore 84 lakh. Tk 322 crore 43 lakh has been spent till last May, the financial progress stands at 12.98 percent.
Besides, even after almost 5 and half years, the actual progress has been 33.50 percent. As the revised DPP of this project is under process in FY 2022-23, no funds have been allocated or exempted. In addition, only Tk 13 crore 95 lakh has been released out of the allocation of Tk 45 crore in the financial year 2023-24. But that money was not spent. Preliminary activities are going on with the tender of this project. But the construction of 34 buffer warehouses has not yet started.
Meanwhile, to learn about this, Secretary Abul Kashem Md Mohiuddin of the Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation Department (IMED) of the Ministry of Planning said that due to various reasons, money could not be allocated to those projects. This includes the impact of the global crisis. Besides, the implementation of 353 development projects was completed last financial year. As the work of those projects is more than 80 percent, the allocation has been ensured as per the demand.
As a result, less allocation is given to some slow projects. Besides, due to the dollar crisis and rising dollar prices, procurement of goods for many projects has been delayed. It has also been seen that the progress of the project has stalled only because of the inability to import lifts.
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