Of the Tk 21,500 crore ADP for FY '06, Tk 19,472 crore or 91 per cent was spent while Tk 18,771 crore or 92 per cent of Tk 20,500 crore ADP was spent in FY '05.

The planning ministry at a meeting of Parliamentary Standing Committee yesterday identified 26 reasons for this slower pace of ADP implementation.

The reasons include delay in appointing project directors and frequent transfer of project directors, lack of commitment among the project bidders, sluggishness in issuing project orders and reaching construction materials to the project areas, insufficient fund allocation for projects, and delays caused by donors' conditions and natural disasters.

However, Chairman of the standing committee Akbar Ali told The Daily Star that excluding the 26 reasons, political unrest, especially hartal and strike are some of the major reasons for slower pace of ADP implementation.

The performance rates in ADP implementation in the last fiscal year by 26 of the 45 ministries represented in the yesterday's meeting were below the average 91 per cent implementation rate. These ministries include internal resources (zero per cent), land (34 per cent), planning (28 per cent), information (62 per cent), and law (73 per cent).

The ministries performing above average include housing, labour and employment, and youth and sports ( all 98 per cent), shipping, primary and mass education, and cultural (all 97 per cent).

In FY '05 the Tk 22,000 crore original ADP was downsized to Tk 20,500 crore, of which finally Tk 18,771 crore could be spent. In the same way, the Tk 24,000 crore original ADP for FY '06 was trimmed to Tk 21,500 crore and finally Tk 19,472 crore was spent, sources said.

The government set the original ADP at Tk 26,000 crore for the current fiscal year.