No more bulk allocation to be allowed for any item in project proposal: MA Mannan

Planning Minister MA Mannan asked the secretaries of all ministries and divisions not to send any new development project proposal (DPP) – containing a bulk amount for any item – to the planning commission for its approval. 

If any item is found without expense details of each piece, the DPP will be returned, he warned. 

"No more bulk allocation will be allowed for any item in the DPP. Today, I have told the secretaries of all the ministries if there is no breakdown, do not send any DPP," the minister said after a meeting with all the secretaries.

It is not sufficient to propose a bulk amount for cars. Information including the amount, model, engine capacity and current market price of the car must be specified in the proposal, the minister told journalists at his office.

The Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) of the planning ministry arranged the meeting to review the implementation progress of the Annual Development Program (ADP) in the first four months of the current fiscal year.

A report, presented by the IMED in the meeting, noted all ministries have spent a total of Tk30,652 crore between July and October to implement ADP projects, which is only 14.25 percent of the total ADP allocation amounting to  Tk2,15,114 crore.

An official, who was present at the meeting, said the planning minister has directed the secretaries not to award more than one job to a contactor like GK Shamim who was arrested over a casino scam.

MA Mannan asked all the secretaries to strictly follow all disciplines set by the prime minister at different times. 

He also said all the directives will be provided to all secretaries in the form of a book.

The minister also urged to reduce foreign tours in the name of study tours mentioning that a one-day workshop after 22 hours of air travel will not be allowed further. 

MA Manan said the implementation of ADP for some large ministries like railways is interrupted due to problems in the acquisition of land and some other complexities.

He also said representatives of the railways have guaranteed that the work on the Cox's Bazar rail line will start from Tuesday and work on the Padma rail link will speed up soon.

"The tender of the railway bridge next to the Jamuna Bangabandhu Bridge will be completed in March, and direct flight from Sylhet to London will restart from next April," said the planning minister.

A source said the meeting discussed the issues of hiring people through outsourcing of projects while some officials said there is an irregularity in many cases in the name of outsourcing. Many are drawing a lower salary after signing a contract for a higher salary and the agencies behind recruitment are seeking extra profits.

According to the report of IMED, all ministries have spent Tk7,637 crore from the foreign fund, which is only 10.64 percent of the total allocation and below Tk723 crore than the same time in the previous fiscal year.

Due to the bureaucratic and other complexities, the aid agencies are not releasing funds on time, he added.

It is true that government officials failed to set proper modality at the time of loan negotiation to release fund properly, said the minister. 

He also asked the Economic Relations Division to find proper reasons behind slow disbursement of foreign aids despite a strong pipeline.