If the Lok Sabha Standing Committee on Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) has its way, MPs will get Rs 10 crore a year to spend on their constituencies, five times more than what they get now.

The standing committee of the House which met here on Wednesday saw complete unanimity after Ganeshrao Dudhankar Nagorao, Shiv Sena member from Parbhani, mooted a proposal for a five-fold increase in the annual grant. Before they dispersed, committee chairman A K S Vijayan (DMK) told the members that he would call senior officials of the Ministries of Finance and Planning to the next meeting to elicit their views on the proposal, sources said.

Nagorao said even members of Assemblies in many states had empowered themselves to sanction schemes worth Rs 2 crore a year. He said the sizes of their constituencies and electorates were 10 times more.

Shripad Yesso Naik, BJP member from Goa, backing Nagorao, said the cost of material had gone up at least 300 per cent since the scheme was introduced. The cap of Rs 2 crore was, therefore, illogical now, he said.

Members argued for a more pragmatic approach. They said, for example, the MPs were empowered to give Rs 25 lakh each to an educational institution, out of which 10 per cent could be utilised for providing transport to children. “This means, one can give Rs 2.5 lakh for the purpose, but it is not possible to buy a bus with this money,” he added.

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