50% of funds allotted for ongoing MPLADS projects lapses

50% of funds allotted for ongoing MPLADS projects lapses

Subject: Polity

Context: Virtually half of the belated ₹2,200 crore allotted for completing the ongoing MPLADS projects in 2020-21 simply lapsed, as the Finance Ministry granted “barely a week” to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) to release the funds — inviting the ire of the Standing Committee on Finance

Concept:

• The MPLADS is a Plan Scheme fully funded by Government of India. The annual MPLADS fund entitlement per MP constituency is Rs. 5 crore.
• MPs are to recommend every year, works costing at least 15 per cent of the MPLADS entitlement for the year for areas inhabited by Scheduled Caste population and 7.5 per cent for areas inhabited by S.T. population.

Works under the scheme:

• Works, developmental in nature, based on locally felt needs and always available for the use of the public at large, are eligible under the scheme. Preference under the scheme is given to works relating to national priorities, such as provision of drinking water, public health, education, sanitation, roads, etc.

Release of Funds:

• Funds are released in the form of grants in-aid directly to the district authorities.
• The funds released under the scheme are non-lapsable.
• The liability of funds not released in a particular year is carried forward to the subsequent years, subject to eligibility.

Execution of works:

• The MPs have a recommendatory role under the scheme. They recommend their choice of works to the concerned district authorities who implement these works by following the established procedures of the concerned state government.
• The district authority is empowered to examine the eligibility of works sanction funds and select the implementing agencies, prioritize works, supervise overall execution, and monitor the scheme at the ground level.

Recommendation of works:

• The Lok Sabha Members can recommend works in their respective constituencies.
• The elected members of the Rajya Sabha can recommend works anywhere in the state from which they are elected.
• Nominated members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha may select works for implementation anywhere in the country.
• Standing Committee on Finance (SCF), had asked the government to release MPLADS funds due from previous years for projects already sanctioned.
• On March 16 this year, an SCF report on the Statistics Ministry’s demands for grants pointed out that many MPLADS projects that began earlier were “left unfinished midway despite the sanction letters being issued and funds for the same were withheld”, citing the suspension of the scheme