Recently,the Government saw a rush of applications from Lok Sabha members seeking release of money from the funds allowed to them under the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS).
About 20-25 MPs submitted applications recently. These include known personalities like Navjot Singh Sidhu, said an official in the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation that releases funds under the scheme. But,they and many more Lok Sabha MPs may have to live with the grouse that they could not spend the entire amount of Rs 10 crore cumulatively allowed to them over five years during their term. About Rs 8 crore remains unspent with the ministry under the MPLAD scheme in 2008-09,the last year of the 14th Lok Sabha. The Budget for this fiscal had set aside Rs 1,580 crore towards the scheme,just like the previous four years.
A Government official told The Indian Express that the ministry would stop disbursing funds now that the Election Commission has notified the poll dates and the model code of conduct has kicked in. The current Lok Sabhas term expires on May 21,2009. The official said the ministry would not release funds for any new work under the scheme.
While for completed works,the money has to be paid,MPs cannot make fresh proposals, he said. Under the scheme,though the MP identifies projects,these are implemented by the district administration through a tender process.
According to the ministry,till January-end,the total amount released by the government since the inception of the scheme in 1993 stood at Rs 19,281 crore. With interest earned on it,the amount available is Rs 19,692 crore. Though the amount sanctioned was Rs 19,007 crore,the actual expenditure incurred was only Rs 17,538 crore.
The unspent balance lying in the MPLAD kitty thus is Rs 2,154 crore,of which Rs 1,000 crore could be the amount belonging to MPs elected in the 14th Lok Sabha,an official said. MPs both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh (Rs 319 crore unspent),Bihar (Rs 259 crore),Maharashtra (Rs 203 crore),West Bengal (Rs 171 crore) and Andhra Pradesh (Rs 146 crore) fared badly in spending the money.
The MPLADS funds do not lapse and the balance funds are carried over and could be spent by the next elected member of the Lok Sabha. Though the interim Budget for 2009-10 has been passed,we cannot draw funds from that since the current fiscal is yet to close, he explained,and even when the new fiscal dawns,the code of conduct will be in play.
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