Eight ministries fail to spend over 5pc of ADP funds in first five months

Business Report :

Eight ministries and divisions failed to spend more than 5 percent of their allocated funds under the Annual Development Programme (ADP) during the first five months of the current fiscal year (July-November), with the Parliamentary Affairs Secretariat not spending a single taka.

The other ministries and divisions with poor spending performance are the Financial Institutions Division, Internal Resources Division (IRD), Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs, Security Services Division, Health Education and Family Welfare Division, Health Services Division, and Public Security Division.

The information was revealed in the latest ADP implementation update for July-November published by the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) of the Planning Ministry.

According to IMED officials, the Parliamentary Affairs Secretariat had an allocation of Tk 20 lakh for a project but has so far failed to spend any of the funds, raising concerns about delays in project preparation and administrative approvals.

Similarly, the Health Services Division spent only Tk 293 crore in the first five months against an allocation of Tk 7,484 crore for 15 projects.

The Health Education and Family Welfare Division spent just Tk 86 crore against its allocation of Tk 4,810 crore, reflecting slow procurement and weak project execution.

During the period, the Financial Institutions Division spent 2.31 percent of its allocation, the IRD 2.12 percent, the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs 3.30 percent, the Security Services Division 2.43 percent, and the Public Security Division only 1.25 percent.

Overall ADP implementation during July-November stood at just 11.75 percent, the lowest rate recorded in the past six years, according to IMED data.

In total, Tk 28,043 crore was spent under the ADP during the first five months of the fiscal year, nearly Tk 6,000 crore less than the expenditure recorded in the same period last year.

Officials and economists say the sluggish implementation reflects capacity constraints, lengthy approval processes and cautious spending amid economic uncertainty.

They warn that continued delays could slow development momentum and affect growth if project execution does not accelerate in the remaining months.

For the current fiscal year, the government has adopted an ADP worth Tk 238,695 crore, covering the implementation of 1,198 development projects.