Comments
In FY23, Gujarat had the highest utilisation-to-released fund ratio of MPLADS funds.
While ₹66 crore was allocated to the state, it had utilised ₹95.77 crore, 145.11 per cent. This is according to the data that the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation presented in the parliament on March 27, 2023.
Rao Inderjit Singh, Minister of State (Independent Charge) was answering a question posed by CPI(M) MP John Brittas, in the Rajya Sabha. The other major states with the highest utilisation-to-released fund ratio include Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
After a hiatus, FY23 was a financial year that saw the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) implemented in the full wing. The scheme was paused during the beginning of the pandemic and was resumed only in November 2021.
MPLADS is a central government scheme under which MPs can recommend development programmes of expenditure of ₹5 crore every year in their constituencies.
Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs can recommend projects here. The funds for the projects get transferred to the respective local authorities here.
At the same time, States like Telangana and Uttarakhand have spent just 52.8 per cent and 63.6 per cent of the total funds that they received in FY23.
Who gets more money?
Data shows that funds received from the Centre by each State are proportional to the number of MPs that the State elects.
For instance, Uttar Pradesh received ₹427.5 crore. The State has 80 Lok Sabha MPs. The State has utilised 99 per cent of the funds that it received in FY23, as of March 27, 2023.
Uttar Pradesh is followed by Maharashtra, Bihar and West Bengal. These States received ₹341.34 crore, ₹219.95 crore, and ₹182.17 crore respectively.
On the other hand, four union territories, Lakshadweep, Chandigarh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli received no money in FY23. Among states, Sikkim received the lowest amount of money at ₹2 crore.
However, the scheme has been facing criticism from various sectors over years.
“The core role of MPs is to make laws and hold the government accountable on our behalf. MPLADS distracts MPs from these duties in Parliament and pulls them into the domain of the government wherein they have to propose projects for on-ground execution. It also skews the expectation that people have from their representatives,” said Chakshu Roy, Head of Outreach, PRS Legislative.
A CAG report from 2010 had also criticised the scheme’s faulty implementation, noting that in many cases work wasn’t completed despite funds getting released. It also noted instances of corruption in some cases.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.