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Improving the rate and quality of the implementation of the Annual Development Programme (ADP) should be given priority over increasing the allocation every year, said State Minister for Planning Shamsul Alam.
“Typically, ministries complete 80-82 per cent of their ADP projects in any given fiscal year. That is why we really should push for a cent per cent completion rate to ensure proper budget utilisation,” he added.
He made the remarks at a pre-budget 2022-23 discussion titled “Climate Change Tolerance Budget: Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Context” at the Dainik Amader Shomoy auditorium on Monday.
Md Golam Sarwar, the acting editor of the daily newspaper, presided over the programme.
In his speech, Golam Sarwar said: “Usually, we see the governing bodies implement 40% of ADP in the first three quarters of the fiscal year. And, rushes to an 80 per cent completion rate within the last quarter, jeopardizing the quality of the project works in the process.”
Meanwhile, the discussants on the programme spoke out in favour of increasing funding for ensuring a continuous supply of safe drinking water, promoting sanitization, and protecting people from the effects of climate change across the country, with a focus on coastal and rural areas.
They claimed only about a quarter of the total budget for the aforementioned issues was usually allocated to coastal and rural areas.
As such, they urged the government to give coastal and rural areas higher priority and provide more funding.
According to State Minister Shamsul Alam, water and sanitation are included in several indexes of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and should thus be given top priority across the country.
The budget is prepared by bureaucrats and passed by lawmakers, so the authorities concerned should take into consideration the public concerns, he said.
In response to allegations that urban areas received a larger share of the water and sanitation budget, the minister stated that city dwellers have limited water sources, whereas rural dwellers have many.
Abdus Samad Gazi, chairman of Bagali Union Council, said the people of Koyra upazila in Khulna have been struggling with water salinity all their lives.
“The scarcity of safe drinking water has reached critical proportions. I am unable to provide fresh water to my people because most sources have been contaminated during floods, and the groundwater is saline even at a depth of 1,400 feet,” Samad explained.
He requests that the relevant ministry install rainwater harvesting devices in his area so that residents have access to fresh water and their suffering is alleviated.
“I request the minister to please convey my message to the prime minister as we cannot survive without drinking water,” he requested.
Shamsul Alam, said that a public representative has a huge responsibility for his people. “Why must the prime minister give direction for everything? A democratic system cannot run this way.”
“You, public representative, raise your voice. If everyone does their job, the economy will be stronger and the country will go forward,” he added.
“If the allocation were utilized properly to the fullest, the country would have moved forward long ago,” he opined.
Speaking at the event, United International University (UIU) Professor Hamidul Huq claimed that many powers influence the government when it sits for budget planning.
“It is a political-economic power. We see the government spending most of the allocation on urban areas, with small funds allocated for coastal and rural areas. The government must increase its budget for the rural and coastal sides,” the professor said.
Also speaking at the programme, Alok Majumder, the country coordinator of the Dutch WASH Alliance, said we have found that 65 per cent of the female population in rural areas uses dirty fabrics during menstruation, which is unhygienic and can lead to health hazards.
“Moreover, 30 per cent of schoolgirls remain absent during their menstruation cycles,” he added.
“Besides, when women and girls take shelter at cyclone centres during natural disasters, they face a sanitary napkin crisis. I think the government should focus on this area,” he suggested.
