With the country’s general elections around the corner, adult citizens of the country have to make the choice in the next couple of months to elect 543 Members of Parliament. But for this, one has to know what their MP has been upto, and what they can expect from their representative.
As part of the information available to you on how the MP has performed is the data of the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme, known as MPLADS, which gives Rs 5 crore to each MP in India that they can use in their constituency to fulfil the needs of the people who live there. The fund available to MPs was at Rs 5 lakh in 1993-94, and is currently at Rs 5 crore.
As part of this scheme, MPs can recommend assets to improve public health, for the welfare of persons with disabilities, drinking water facilities, sanitation, roads, etc. The MP can also use their funds to contribute to relief and rehabilitation works at the time of a disaster.
There are three main entities involved in the use of MPLADS funds — the MP, the central government and the District Collector. The MP’s role is limited to recommending the work. It has to be implemented by the Collector, and the funds have to released by the central government. So if a recommended work is not completed, it may not necessarily be the fault of the MP.
One can find how the MP has spent money on www.mplads.gov.in. However, the website sometimes may not have the full details, so this may only be helpful for one to get a basic idea of the work done by the MP.
Here’s why you should care about MPLADS funds, and how to navigate the website: