Funding in driblets won't help

Although this year's development budget is deemed to be the most ambitious till date, we are perplexed by the allocation of Tk 1 lakh each to 64 projects, many of which are in advanced stages of completion, and have been so for some time. Some of these projects are of high priority but received a flat allocation of Tk 1 lakh each, which basically will put them on the backburner. We are looking at infrastructure projects that have completed between 63 percent–90 percent or above of the work. This brings us to the question as to precisely what is the thinking behind allocation of such paltry financial commitments? The ministry of finance believes that this meagre allocation will keep these projects alive, but to what end?

It would seem that our policymakers are simply juggling with finances and keeping projects alive on paper. That is not the only problem. We find that some projects have completed their project cycles and yet have money pouring in, whereas a number of important projects never got off the ground. Would it not be more prudent to simply hold in suspended animation projects that have never truly got going and allocate those monies to projects that are nearing completion? It is understandable that the government wishes to show that it has undertaken a large number of projects for the development of the country, but it would be more realistic to prioritise and fund only those that are nearing completion while deferring others for future funding.