Latest MPLADs report for one year of 16th Lok Sabha show statistics that should worry voters
By Mohammad Mudassir Alam,
Kishanganj (Bihar): Maulana Asrarul Haque Qasmi, Kishanganj’s Member of Parliament, has yet again disappointed the people of the district with his poor performance in one year since he was voted to power in May 2014.
As per the recently issued report of the MPLADS, (Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme) for the MPs elected in 16th Lok Sabha, Haque has failed to spend a single rupee during this year.
Maulana Asrarul Haque Qasmi (TCN file photo)
Under the MPLAD scheme, each MP has the choice to suggest to the District Collector works to the tune of Rs 5 crore per annum to be taken up in his/her constituency. Haque’s report card says that out of Rs 5 crore, he had recommended works only for Rs 30,000 that too was not utilised for the development schemes.
The report is quite annoying for the people of Kishanganj who had whole-heartedly voted for Haque with record votes. But, likewise in previous term during the 15th Lok Sabha, in the present Lok Sabha, Haque’s first year performance is discouraging and a matter of concern as well for the people of the district who dream to see Kishanganj in the path of development.
Haque not alone, there are 24 more
The report of the MPLADS says, 25 out of the 40 Lok Sabha MPs in Bihar failed to spend even a single paisa from their Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) fund in the past one year. Party-wise the report says, 16 MPs are from the BJP, six from its allies LJP and RLSP and one each from Congress, RJD and JD-U.
Interestingly, three Union Ministers namely, Ram Kirpal Yadav, BJP MP from Patliputra; Rajiv Pratap Rudy, BJP MP from Saran, and Radha Mohan Singh, BJP MP from Motihari, too have failed to spend their MPLADS fund.
However, expelled RJD MP Rajiv Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav (Madhepura) topped the list of MPs, who had utilised their MPLADS fund for development work with Rs 49.10 lakh, followed by Union Minister and Lok Jantantrik Party (LJP) supremo Ram Vilas Paswan (Hajipur) with Rs 48.20 lakh.
In all, along with Haque, there are 24 other MPs, who did not utilize a single penny from their MPLADS fund in last one year. These include Tasleem Uddin (Araria), Raj Kumar Singh (Arrah), Sanjay Jaiswal (Paschim Champaran), Jai Prakash Narayan Yadav (Banka), Radha Mohan Singh (Purvi Champaran), Rajiv Pratap Rudy (Saran), Ashwini Kumar Choubey (Buxar), Nityanand Rai (Ujjarpur), Kirti Azad (Darbhanga), Janak Ram (Gopalganj – SC), Arun Kumar (Jahanabad), Birendra Kumar Chaudhary (Jhanjharpur), Choudhary Mahboob Ali Kaiser (Khagaria), Jananrdan Singh ‘Sigriwal’ (Maharjganj), Veena Devi (Munger), Ram Kripal Yadav (Patliputra), Ajay Nishad (Muzaffarpur), Giriraj Singh (Nawada), Shatrughana Sinha (Patna Sahib), Upendra Kushwaha (Karakat), Chirag Kumar Paswan (Jamui – SC), Ram Chandra Paswan (Samastipur – SC), Ram Kumar Sharma (Sitamarhi) and Santosh Kumar (Purnea).
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(Mohammad Mudassir Alam is a freelance writer hailing from Kishanganj)