By Rajeev Ranjan Roy, IANS
New Delhi : Funds allotted to MPs for development work in their constituencies will be scrutinised by the government for their use and effectiveness, according to official sources.
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) consultancy services will evaluate the works being undertaken through the MP Local Area Development (MPLAD) scheme, the sources said.
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, the nodal agency for the implementation of the MPLAD scheme, had earlier evaluated the works in 30 districts.
MPs are entrusted with the responsibility of implementation of the MPLAD scheme and each member has the choice to suggest areas from his/her constituency for development works to the tune of Rs.20 million (Rs.2 crores).
“We are working out the details, and hope the evaluation for the new 100 districts would start soon. A positive report from Nabard of 30 districts, where the evaluation was done (earlier), has encouraged us to take up more districts,” a senior official associated with the scheme told IANS requesting anonymity.
These developmental activities include building roads and bridges, digging wells, maintaining parks and ensuring irrigation facilities. The works carried out or under way during the tenure of the 14th Lok Sabha are to be evaluated on a priority basis.
“The Nabard teams visit the field and do an on-the-spot assessment of the works. Their report will give us an insight into the quality of the works,” the official said.
The 30 districts where Nabard has already completed the evaluation of MPLAD works included Lucknow and Agra in Uttar Pradesh, Aurangabad and Wardah in Maharashtra, East Godavari and Karim Nagar in Andhra Pradesh, South 24 Parganas and North 24 Parganas in West Bengal, Patna and Nalanda in Bihar and Thiruvanamalai in Tamil Nadu.
The other districts were Anand in Gujarat, Rohtak in Haryana, Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu in Jammu and Kashmir, Ranchi in Jharkhand, Bangalore urban in Karnataka, Alappuzha in Kerala, Betul in Madhya Pradesh, Ludhiana in Punjab, Jodhpur in Rajasthan, Haridwar in Uttaranchal, Chandigarh, East Delhi, Raipur in Chhattisgarh, Jorhat in Assam, Lohit in Arunachal Pradesh, Shillong, Puducherry, and Bhubaneswar in Orissa.
MPs, while welcoming the move, generally complained that they weren’t engaged effectively in the implementation of the works carried out on the funds they are entrusted with.
“It is a good move on the part of the ministry, but efforts should also be made to keep MPs informed about who (is undertaking the works) and how they are being done. We hardly get any information once the official consent goes to release funds for a particular work,” Congress MP from Delhi Sandeep Dikshit told IANS.
“In order to bring more transparency and openness to the scheme, MPs should be engaged effectively in the implementation of works.
“The Municipal Corporation of Delhi is the agency to execute work plans in my constituency, but I do not know how the majority of works were being carried out,” Dikshit added.
The physical verification of MPLAD works assumes significance in view of the statistics and programme implementation ministry’s recommendation to the government last year to enhance the annual allocation to Rs.50 million from Rs.20 million for each MP under the scheme.
As per ministry estimation, the percentage of funds utilisation is as high as 89.3. Over 960,000 works have been sanctioned so far, out of which 860,000 works have been completed.
“The ministry is taking a number of measures to make the MPLADS a most effective and transparent scheme. All the work details are being made available online,” the ministry official said.