Use more MPLADS funds for irrigation: Pawar to MPs

The NCP leader’s suggestion comes soon after Congress president Sonia Gandhi asked party legislators to contribute 20 per cent of their basic salary — for one year — to meet the challenges of the drought-like situation in large parts of the country.

If Pawar’s appeal has the intended effect,each MP can recommend works up to Rs 2 crore every year in their respective constituencies. The records available with the government indicate that irrigation is a much-neglected area.

According to the latest annual report (2007-08) of the MPLAD Scheme,irrigation comprised less than 2 per cent of projects,which adds up to less than 3 per cent in monetary terms of total works recommended by the MPs in their constituencies.

Most MPs have focused more on recommending works pertaining to roads and bridges (29.44 per cent of works),other public facilities (27.98 per cent),and education (17.38 per cent). Drinking water projects,primarily hand pumps,comprise about 11 percent of MPs’ works in this category.

Only last week Pawar had asked the state agriculture ministers to use the funds under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) with Nabard to undertake rapid construction of shallow tubewells to meet the irrigation requirements of the next Rabi crop.