Rajasthan MLA Local Area Development (LAD) Fund

Context:

The Rajasthan Government has approved a proposal to provide Rs. 3 crore each from the MLA Local Area Development (LAD) Fund to mobilise resources for Covid-19 Vaccination of the people in the age group of 18 to 44 years.

For meeting the expenses, the fund for each legislator has been increased from Rs. 2.25 crore to Rs. 5 crore a year.

Relevance:

GS-II: Social Justice (Central Sector Schemes, Government Policies & Interventions)

Dimensions of the Article:

1. About the Members of Legislative Assembly Local Area Development (MLA-LAD) Scheme
2. Members of Parliament Local Area Development (MP-LAD)
3. Features of MPLADS scheme
4. Release of Funds under MPLADS

About the Members of Legislative Assembly Local Area Development (MLA-LAD) Scheme

• Members of Legislative Assembly Local Area Development (MLA-LAD) Scheme is the is the States’ version of a central government scheme – Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLAD).
• The objective of this scheme is to create local need-based infrastructure, to create assets of public utility and to remove regional imbalances in development.
• This scheme is implemented in rural areas as well as urban areas of a state.
• MLAs do not receive any money under this scheme. The government transfers it directly to the respective local authorities.
• The legislators can only recommend works in their constituencies based on a set of guidelines.
• Amounts per MLA varies across the states and so does the guidelines for use of MLA-LAD funds. Delhi has the highest allocation under MLALAD; each MLA can recommend works for up to Rs. 10 crore each year.

Members of Parliament Local Area Development (MP-LAD)

• Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) is an ongoing Central Sector Scheme which was launched in 1993-94.
• The Scheme enables the Members of Parliament to recommend works for creation of durable community assets based on locally felt needs to be taken up in their constituencies in the area of national priorities namely drinking water, education, public health, sanitation, roads etc.
• Nodal Ministry: The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has been responsible for the policy formulation, release of funds and prescribing monitoring mechanism for implementation of the Scheme.

Features of MPLADS scheme

1. The annual MPLADS fund entitlement per MP constituency is Rs. 5 crore.
2. 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.
3. In order to encourage trusts and societies for the betterment of tribal people, a ceiling of Rs. 75 lakhs is stipulated for building assets by trusts and societies subject to conditions prescribed in the scheme guidelines.
4. Lok Sabha Members can recommend works within their Constituencies and Elected Members of Rajya Sabha can recommend works within the State of Election (with select exceptions).
5. Nominated Members of both the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha can recommend works anywhere in the country.
6. All works to meet locally felt infrastructure and development needs, with an emphasis on creation of durable assets in the constituency are permissible under MPLADS as prescribed in the scheme guidelines.
7. Expenditure on specified items of non-durable nature are also permitted as listed in the guidelines.

Release of Funds under MPLADS

1. Funds are released in the form of grants in-aid directly to the district authorities.
2. The funds released under the scheme are non-lapsable.
3. 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, prioritise works, supervise overall execution, and monitor the scheme at the ground level.

-Source: The Hindu