ADP spending gains pace

Public expenditure for development programmes gained pace in March this fiscal year, taking the overall implementation rate to a three-year high of 45.5 per cent, according to official data.

In March, government agencies increased their spending by 10.53 per cent year-on-year to Tk 22,867 crore for various projects under the Annual Development Programme (ADP).

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Overall implementation of the ADP in terms of expenditure rose to Tk 98,934 crore in the July-March period of fiscal year 2021-22 from Tk 87,735 a year ago, according to data from the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) under the planning ministry.

"Development related activities have increased. We have also seen that foreign tours for education purposes which were stalled for pandemic-induced travel restrictions have increased," said a senior official of the IMED.

Besides, historically, the pace of implementation of the ADP increases from March every fiscal year.

"That trend is on this year too. Usually, the implementation rate remains in the take off stage in the first quarter and then gradually gains momentum," the official said.

The government initially allocated Tk 225,324 crore for the ADP for fiscal year 2021-22, which was 14 per cent higher than the revised allocation for the previous fiscal year.

In March, the government revised down the ADP allocation by nearly 4 per cent to Tk 217,175 crore for the ongoing fiscal, ending in June. This means that public agencies will be required to spend Tk 118,241 crore in the last quarter, which given the previous years' trend of implementation is unlikely.