Confusion shrouds the size of the next fiscal year’s Annual Development
Programme, after the National Economic Council has included expenditures
of various autonomous bodies in the ADP.
Such a move is unprecedented, and a planning ministry official said it was done on government’s instructions so that the ADP size looks bigger ahead of the next general election.
According to a planning ministry statement, the size of the approved ADP is Tk 73,984 crore, which includes TK 8,114 crore for development projects of autonomous bodies.
But Planning Secretary Bhuiyan Shafiqul Islam contradicted the statement, saying: “The size of the actual ADP is TK 65,870 crore. But allocations for various autonomous bodies will be shown separately.”
The Tk 65,870-crore ADP, as the planning secretary put it, is 25.78 percent bigger than the revised budget of the current fiscal year.
Interestingly, the ADP size and the sector-wise allocation ratio shown in the ministry’s statement do not match.
According to the statement, of the Tk 73,984 crore, transport sector got Tk 15,374 crore, which is 23.34 percent of the ADP.
TK 15,374 crore is in fact 20.78 percent (not 23.34 percent) of TK 73,984 crore. It can be 23.34 percent if the calculation is done on Tk 65,870 crore.
Responding to journalists’ queries at the planning ministry, Planning Minister AK Khandker yesterday said the inclusion of autonomous bodies’ expenditures was not done with a political intent.
He added that people had the right to know the expenditure of various autonomous bodies and it was included in the ADP this year to uphold that right.
Such a move is unprecedented, and a planning ministry official said it was done on government’s instructions so that the ADP size looks bigger ahead of the next general election.
According to a planning ministry statement, the size of the approved ADP is Tk 73,984 crore, which includes TK 8,114 crore for development projects of autonomous bodies.
But Planning Secretary Bhuiyan Shafiqul Islam contradicted the statement, saying: “The size of the actual ADP is TK 65,870 crore. But allocations for various autonomous bodies will be shown separately.”
The Tk 65,870-crore ADP, as the planning secretary put it, is 25.78 percent bigger than the revised budget of the current fiscal year.
Interestingly, the ADP size and the sector-wise allocation ratio shown in the ministry’s statement do not match.
According to the statement, of the Tk 73,984 crore, transport sector got Tk 15,374 crore, which is 23.34 percent of the ADP.
TK 15,374 crore is in fact 20.78 percent (not 23.34 percent) of TK 73,984 crore. It can be 23.34 percent if the calculation is done on Tk 65,870 crore.
Responding to journalists’ queries at the planning ministry, Planning Minister AK Khandker yesterday said the inclusion of autonomous bodies’ expenditures was not done with a political intent.
He added that people had the right to know the expenditure of various autonomous bodies and it was included in the ADP this year to uphold that right.
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