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Lax execution performance and under-par quality of works prompted the high-ups to ask all ministries and divisions to ensure proper supervision to check misuse of state funds in development projects, officials said.
The planning ministry has issued a letter alerting them to such lapses and advising them to comply with proper standards in execution of development projects under the Annual Development Programme (ADP).
Furthermore, the ministry note has advised following the instructions and recommendations from the cabinet division and the Anti-Corruption Comm-ission (ACC) in this regard, they added.
The ministry hopes implementation rate and quality of ADP will increase further in the ongoing financial year (FY) 2021-22.
Late last month, Planning Minister M. A. Mannan sent official letters to the secretaries of the ministries and divisions in this regard.
Contacted, the planning minister said, "We have sent a letter to the ministr-ies/divisions about ADP implementation issue that is our regular work."
The government allocated over Tk 2.09 trillion to 1,949 projects under the 58 ministries/divisions in the revised ADP for the past FY.
Of the allocations, 82.21 per cent of the funds were used by the ministries and divisions--said to be 1.82 per cent higher than that of the FY 2019-20.
Two months of the current FY have already been over. The Cabinet Division has instructed taking necessary strategy for executing the ADP from the beginning of the fiscal, in order to improve upon both rate and quality of works.
It has also asked for building up physical infrastructures at the beginning of dry season by completing required paperwork on the projects concerned within the first quarter of ongoing FY.
On the other hand, the ACC has suggested ensuring the quality and durability of the construction works under the development budget to prevent corruption and misuse of government funds, the letter mentioned.
Besides, the Cabinet Division has requested the agencies concerned to take close monitoring for implementing the ACC recommendations with an eye to "building a better Bangladesh".
A senior official of the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) said, "We are hopeful of achieving good results in terms of project execution in the future days."
He hinted that the agencies performed better in the last FY 2021 compared to FY 2020 doings.
He appeared confident enough about expediting project execution in the current FY 2022, as all the agencies already adapted themselves to the changed situation, especially arising out of the global pandemic of coronavirus that has upended normal order everywhere.