Staff Correspondent:

The Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) under the Ministry of Planning has recommended for undertaking development projects through conducting more standard feasibility studies and analyzing received opinions from the concerned stakeholders to yield better outcomes.

The IMED also suggested for enhancing the capacity of the project implementation agencies in making the Development Project Proforma (DPP) to overcome the weaknesses for framing the development schemes. In such cases, the IMED advocated for keeping allocation in the revenue sector to frame designs and DPPs of the projects.

The IMED made a good number of observations and recommendations in its progress report on implementation of the Annual Development Programme (ADP) placed before the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting held earlier this month.

Earlier on March 3, the NEC approved a Taka 2,16,000 crore Revised Annual Development Programme (RADP) for the current fiscal year (FY25) with the highest priority on the transport and communications sector.

The original ADP outlay for the current fiscal year was Taka 2,65,000 crore. The RADP allocation in the current fiscal year witnessed a decrease of Taka 49,000 crore or 18.49 percent of the allocation.

Commenting on the planning process after the NEC meeting, Planning Adviser Dr Wahiduddin Mahmud said that from now on, they would try to speed up the pace of implementation of the RADP.

He said that the National Portal for Electronic Project Management Information System (e-PIMS) helps to know the actual progress state of the projects, but all the project authorities are yet to post their project related information in that software.

In such cases, posting project related information into that software might be made mandatory prior to receiving funds from the Ministry of Finance, he said.

Turning to the implementation rate of the ADP during the July-January period of the current fiscal year (FY25), the Planning Adviser said that the implementation rate during this period reached nearly 22 percent or exactly 21.52 percent although the utilization rate during this period in the previous fiscal years totaled 30 percent on an average.

He said that the concerned ministries, divisions and the implementing agencies would try to make their all-out efforts to speed up further the implementation rate.

Among the recommendations and suggestions, the IMED stressed that the consulting firms should assess the framed designs by their own experts or by the expert institutions like the engineering universities since designs of the physical works of the projects especially on roads, bridges, railways, buildings and irrigation are often changed.

In such cases, own capacity on framing designs by the engineering firms should be enhanced.

It said that lengthiness in land acquisition and utility transfer as well as resettlement and complexities in eviction of illegal structures often creates problems in project implementation.

In this regard, the IMED emphasized that the concerned ministries and divisions should enforce strict monitoring side by side ensuring more integrated coordination with the Deputy Commissioners at the district level.

Besides, a flow chart with a time-bound action plan in land acquisition can be included in the DPP with consent from the concerned Deputy Commissioners.

The report placed by the IMED said that the projects should be framed in line with the financial ceiling of the Mid Term Budgetary Framework (MTBF) to avoid complexities.

The report emphasized that the implementing agencies should ensure that the contracting firms complete the concerned works of the package maintaining due quality within the stipulated timeframe mentioned in the original work order.

It cited that lengthiness in processing procurement works as well as failure to complete works by the work order recipient contracting firms within the stipulated timeframe creates unnecessary delay in project implementation.

In order to ensure proper implementation of the development projects alongside ensuring qualitative standard of works, the IMED renewed its suggestion that one project director should not be in charge of more than one project while the project directors must stay in his or her project sites round the clock.

The IMED proposed for awarding the project directors for their good performances side by side taking action against them as per rules in case of their failures.

The report said ‘Work Break Down Structure’ and ‘Critical Path Method’ should be framed after specifying the detailed work of each package under the projects as well as taking necessary steps to properly implement the projects as per the mentioned work plan in the DPP/TAPP and the procurement plan.

It said that specific information on the contribution of concerned projects towards attaining the targets in the various plans of the government should be mentioned in monitoring and evaluation of projects.

The IMED underscored the need for ensuring the service life of created infrastructures and machineries as well as ensuring conservation and maintenance of those under the projects.

In this regard, it advocated for outlining a detailed design with ‘exit plan’ at the project formulation stage to ensure desired outcomes from projects.

It also suggested for making mandatory the use of National Portal for Electronic Project Management Information System (e-PMIS) by the executing agencies to provide inputs on financial and real progress of projects and on all project related information.

Out of the 1437 projects with allocations in the RADP for the current fiscal year (FY25), some 1212 are investment projects, some 28 are survey projects, some 112 are technical assistance projects while 85 are from own financing. Besides, some 313 projects have been kept for completion in the current fiscal year.