Govt eyes over ~5K-cr unspent MPLADS funds
Questions about the need for a new PM- CARES Fund notwithstanding, nearly half the Members of Parliament (MPS) have consented to allocate ~1 crore from their respective MPLADS (Local Area Development Scheme) grants to the recently set up fund to fight the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
The government is hopeful that more will follow suit, and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders have reached out to not just their party’s MPS but also to those from other allied parties. This is because as on March 4, 2020, as much as ~5,275.24 crore of MPLADS funds had not been spent (see chart).
The Congress and other Opposition parties have questioned the need for setting up the PMCARES Fund ( Prime Minister ’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund) when the PM National Relief Fund (PMNRF) already exists. According to the PM’S website, PMNRF had a corpus of ~3,800 crore at the end of financial year 2018-19 (FY19).
Until Tuesday, 320 of the 779 MPS (of the total 788) had consented to allocate ~1 crore to the PM- CARES Fund. Sources in Parliament, however, said dozens more had sent their consent on Wednesday.
Earlier this week, Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla had asked MPS to contribute ~1 crore to the PM- CARES Fund. They had also asked MPS to contribute a month’s salary.
“This fund will enable micro donations as a result of which a large number of people will be able to contribute with the smallest of denominations,” Naidu said in a letter sent to Rajya Sabha MPS.
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI) is responsible for overseeing MPLADS, through which MP’S recommend public works to be taken up by district authorities.
To allow for the allocation of funds under MPLADS to the fight against Covid-19, the MOSPI had
Mar 31,’15
Mar 31,’16
Mar 31,’17 issued two circulars on March 24 and 28. In the March 24 circular, it allowed district authorities to use the funds for “medical testing , screening and other facilities required to detect and contain Covid-19”.
Mar 31,’18
Mar 31,’19
Mar 4,’20
The MOSPI allowed a “one-time dispensation” to district authorities to purchase from MPLADS funds items not costing less than ~5 lakh for government dispensaries and hospitals, such as ICU ventilators, coronavirus testing kits and PPE (personal protection equipment) kits.
It also informed district authorities that this expenditure shall be restricted to the end of FY21, and not be allowed to roll over to FY22. However, in its circular on March 28, MOSPI asked MPS to recommend release of funds to a central government pool for fighting Covid-19. It asked MPS to consent to t he release of funds from the first instalment they will receive in FY21.
The ministry stated in the circular that the MPS should consent to contribute to “such Fund/central government pool or head of account as may be decided by the central government for managing Covid-19 in the country”.
Each year, MPS receive ~5 crore under MPLADS in two equal instalments. Funds under the scheme are
The Ministry of Rural Development initially controlled the scheme, but it was later shifted to MOSPI. It is a centrallysponsored scheme.
In the past, MPS have been allowed to allocate money from MPLADS for the non-lapsable. Lok Sabha MPS have to recommend to the district authorities projects in their constituencies, while Rajya Sabha MPS have to spend it in the state that has elected them to the House. Under the MPLADS rules, an MP can donate a maximum of ~1 crore to a trust or a public fund.
The March 28 MOSPI circular also provided for “one-time exemption in furnishing of utilisation certificate” for release of the first instalment, and exemption from furnishing of audit certificate for release of the second instalment.
Several MPS, however, are not keen to contribute to PM- CARES Fund, and would rather follow the March 24 order, under which the money goes directly to a district hospital in their respective constituencies rather than to the central fund.
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