In a major push to restore fiscal discipline and overhaul public development programme, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Planning has moved to tighten scrutiny of project delays, cost overruns and alleged procurement syndicates.
The move comes as Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said the government had inherited nearly 1,500 incomplete, flawed and substandard projects.
The committee issued a series of directives at its maiden meeting, held at the Parliament Complex last month with Chairman Zahir Uddin Swapon presiding.
Panel seeks explanations for project delays
Taking a firm stance against repeated project extensions, the parliamentary watchdog instructed the Planning Ministry to provide project-specific explanations at its next meeting for 216 projects under the FY2025-26 Annual Development Programme (ADP) whose completion deadlines were extended.
The committee also sought detailed explanations for extensions granted to 525 ongoing projects.
Lawmakers expressed concern over allegations that project extensions had often resulted from collusion between contractors and corrupt officials, leading to delays and higher costs for taxpayers.
“In the past, the Planning Ministry was reduced to a mere project approval agency. The government inherited roughly 1,500 incomplete and substandard projects,” the finance minister told the meeting.
“Getting these projects back on track while maintaining quality is our biggest challenge.”
Policy reforms underway
State Minister for Planning Zohayed Saki briefed the committee on institutional reforms aimed at addressing five major bottlenecks: delays in appointing project directors, cumbersome land acquisition procedures, fragmented schedules of rates, procurement cartels and repeated changes in project scope.
To curb contractor syndicates and speed up project implementation, the Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority (BPPA) has drafted amendments to the Public Procurement Act, 2006, for review.
The government is also introducing a unified schedule of rates across public engineering agencies, including the Public Works Department (PWD), Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) and Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE), in an effort to prevent price manipulation.
A uniform policy for appointing project directors is being finalised to ensure timely postings, while amendments to land acquisition laws are being considered to reduce delays caused by land disputes.
Ongoing and unapproved ADP projects are also being re-evaluated through “rescoping and repurposing” for possible inclusion in the upcoming Revised ADP.
The government has also begun implementing the Five-Year Strategic Framework for Reform and Development, covering July 2026 to June 2031, as its broader development roadmap.
ADP implementation at 1%
The FY2026-27 ADP has an allocation of Tk1.85 lakh crore for 1,193 ongoing projects, while Tk22,290.84 crore has been earmarked for 250 priority projects.
Overall ADP implementation stood at just 1% in August, the first month of the current programme period.
To strengthen oversight, the ministry plans to introduce an interactive digital dashboard for real-time monitoring of project implementation.
The committee also discussed manpower shortages across planning bodies. According to figures presented at the meeting, vacancies include 43 posts in the Planning Division, 196 in the Planning Commission and 79 at the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS).
The parliamentary panel instructed the Planning Ministry to provide committee members with the government’s strategic roadmap and a complete list of all 1,193 ongoing ADP projects before its next meeting.
It also called for prompt administrative measures to fill vacant posts across the planning bodies.
Closing the meeting, Chairman Zahir Uddin Swapon said every taka of taxpayers’ money must deliver value, warning that diversion of funds and compromises on project quality would not be tolerated.