Oppn leaders protest proposed changes on MPLADS utilisation
NEW DELHI: A proposed change in rules defining the utilisation of funds under the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) has elicited objections from opposition leaders.
In letters issued by the Union ministries of statistics and programme implementation, and finance, the government has proposed that any interest accrued on the ₹5 crore annual funds that are allotted to each MP for their local area development scheme (MPLADS) has to be deposited back to the Centre.
“All interest earnings from the funds released for each central sector schemes, shall mandatorily be remitted back to the consolidated fund of India,” said the finance ministry note from March. The MPLADS division of the ministry of statistics reiterated this in a note released on April 11.
The grant of funds under the MPLADS scheme was suspended for nearly 19 months in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and it was restored in November last year. While making the announcement about the restoration of MPLADS,
Union information and broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur had said the Centre was bringing it back “in view of the improvement in economic scenario”.
Reacting to the proposed change, Communist Party of India (Marxist) Rajya Sabha member John Brittas on Monday shot off a letter to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman. In the letter, Brittas cited the 2016 rules that are prevalent at present, saying “interest accrued on the funds is to be used for permissible works recommended by the MP concerned...hence the bypassing of the same...cannot be greeted with applause.” TMC MP Jawahar Sircar said: “It is a terribly mechanical and unimaginative drafting of the finance ministry’s revised procedure for flow of funds under central sector schemes to a quiteunique MPLAD scheme.”
When asked, two central government officials, requesting anonymity, said the changes proposed are aimed at timely utilisation of funds. “As ministry of statistics and programme implementation is the nodal ministry and is responsible for policy formulation, it will take a final call on release of funds.”