Noting that ₹12,000 crore of the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) funds remains unspent, the Central Information Commission (CIC) has asked the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Rajya Sabha Chairman to come out with a legal framework to ensure its transparency and hold parliamentarians and political parties accountable for their obligations under the scheme.
The MPLADS allots ₹5 crore per year to each Member of Parliament (MP) to be spent on projects of their choice in their constituency. The scheme is funded and administered through the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI). Projects are to be recommended to and implemented by the district-level administration.
Central Information Commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu issued interim orders on Sunday in two cases where petitioners had requested details on MPLADS, but were told by the MoSPI that the Centre does not maintain constituency-wise, and work-wise details.
Prof. Acharyulu noted that a recent MoSPI report showed that in February 2018, funds allotted to MPLADS but unspent stood at ₹4,773.13 crore, while 2,920 instalments of ₹2.5 crore were yet to be released. That resulted in a total backlog of ₹12,073.13 crore, it said.
The CIC’s orders asked the leaders of the two Houses of Parliament to consider providing the “necessary legal frame” for the scheme, which would “make all Parliamentary parties and MPs answerable and accountable for MPLADS funds as public authorities under the RTI Act to prevent MPLADS irregularities.”
‘Transparency must’
The framework should make transparency a legal obligation, with all MPs and parties required to present the public and Parliament with a comprehensive report on the number of applications received for their constituency, works recommended, works rejected with reasons, progress of works and details of beneficiaries.
Liabilities for any breach of duties should also be imposed, said the order. Further, the framework should prohibit and prevent MPs using the funds for their private works, or diverting them to private trusts or to their own relatives.
District administrations must provide regular information — work-wise, MP-wise, and year-wise details on progress — which are to be compiled by the MoSPI and made available to the public, said the order.
