Sriprakash Jaiswal, Minister of State for Statistics and Programme Implementation, on Tuesday said the Centre had received complaints of corruption in the implementation of the Members of Parliament Local Area Development (MPLAD) scheme, but there was no move yet to scrap it.
Talking to journalists here, Mr. Jaiswal admitted that complaints had been received from elected representatives about corruption, but this did not mean that the scheme should be scrapped.
“I have conveyed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that the scheme should not be discontinued as it was serving its purpose to a large extent. We will look into issues of corruption and deal with them accordingly,” he added.
Mr. Jaiswal said the scheme had done well with a track record of completing over 10 lakh works since its inception in 1993-94. The performance of the scheme was reflected in the high percentage of utilisation of cumulative release of 91.71 per cent and completion of about 10.53 lakh works since 1993-94, he added.
Mr. Jaiswal chaired a review meeting of the scheme with the secretaries of nodal departments of the States and Union Territories. Under the MPLAD scheme, each MP is allocated Rs.2 crore every year to take public works of his choice in his area.
On the upward revision of funds under the scheme to about Rs.5 crore per member, the Minister said the proposal was with the Planning Commission. “One of reasons for the delay in its approval could be the pendency of a public interest litigation petition in the Supreme Court on this issue,” he said.
Under the MPLAD scheme, 12.94 lakh works have been recommended by MPs so far, of which 11.54 lakh were sanctioned and 10.53 lakh completed.
The leading performers under the scheme are Mizoram (98.55 per cent), Arunachal Pradesh (98.22 per cent) and Tamil Nadu (96.79 per cent), while those lagging behind are Bihar (86.31 per cent), Chhattisgarh (86.71 per cent) and Uttarakhand (87.16 per cent).
