Moneylife: Mumbai: Friday, December 15, 2017.
Every year,
Maharashtra government allocates Rs700 crore in total towards the Local Area
Development Scheme (LADS) to be utilised by members of Legislative Assembly
(MLAs) and members of Legislative Council (MLCs). However, there is no record
on utilisation of the LADS fund by 288 MLAs and 76 MLCs over the past three
years that comes to Rs2,100 crore, reveals a reply received under the Right to
Information (RTI) Act. The Planning Department, plainly stated, “…no records
are available with the government so we cannot provide details of the same.”
Pune-based
RTI activist Sanjay Shirodkar sought details of expenditure over the past three
years through the LADS, which amounts to Rs2,100 crore. He says, “List of works
undertaken by the MLAs and MLCs is maintained by the Planning Officer at every
District Collector’s office. Hence, it is the Planning Department’s responsibility
to make an Annual Report of each MLA and MLC and put it in the public domain.
Also, each one of the MLA and MLC has to file report of work undertaken by them
to the Vidhansabha (Assembly) Secretariat. Hence, I first filed my RTI to the
Secretariat but obviously because it does not have the records, my application
was redirected to the Planning Department, which stated it has no records of
it.’’
The LADS fund
enables each MLA to undertake small developmental works in his/her constituency
through the allocated funds of Rs2 crore per year. These works are at a micro
scale, falling within the jurisdiction of the MLA’s constituency, which may
have been overlooked by the local administration in its annual budget. They
pertain to development work, creating durable community assets.
After
submission of the proposal by the MLA, the district authority is mandated to
implement the same within three months of acceptance of the proposal. The
objective of the Fund is to strengthen the local community’s infrastructure
like roads, school building, drinking water, public health, sanitation,
electricity, health and family welfare, irrigation and so on.
Shirodkar
says this apparent deliberate negligence is across all political party lines as
none of them have reported to the Vidhansabha Secretariat. “If creating and
maintaining annual report on LADS Fund and putting it in public domain is the
mandatory duty of the Planning Department, why is it not being done?” he asks.
The Members
of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) too is in disarray. As per
the Annual report for 2010-2011 released by the Ministry of Statistics and
Programme Implementation, which disburses these funds, at least 45% to 60% of
MPLADS funds in most of the states have been spent on roads. This is
particularly so in Maharashtra (see image below).
The Report
also observes that in 13 states and union territories (UTs), about Rs1.30 crore
was used for not admissible items like payment of honorarium or wages or
travelling, expenses of staff, fuel for official vehicles and purchase of
laptops. It also observed that no proper records were maintained; eight states
executed 700 works costing Rs9.45 crore without formal recommendations of the
MPs; 150 projects worth to Rs2.44 crore were recommended by the representatives
of the MPs.
Nearly Rs15
crore were disbursed to private trusts and societies beyond the permissible
limit of Rs25 lakh. Following are division of funds spent in Maharashtra – 47%
are for roads and bridges, as per the 2010-2011 report. We do not know if
things have changed as the state government has not been maintaining records,
at least since the last three years, as per the RTI reply.
As per the
government directives, norms of transparency under the RTI Act must be followed
by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation and all the district
authorities, which implement the works. This applies to funds allocated under
LADS for MLAs and MLCs as well. That is, “as per the provisions of the RTI Act,
2005 and the rules framed there under, all citizens have the right to
information on any aspect of the MPLAD Scheme including works recommended or
sanctioned or executed under it, cost of works sanctioned, implementing
agencies, quality of works completed, user agencies, etc. The district
authorities are responsible for providing information to the public in the
manner required under the RTI Act, 2005.”
Despite such
information falling under Section 4 of the RTI Act where the public authority
is bound by providing updated information from time to time in the public
domain, that is on its website, not only is there secrecy, but tax payers’
money is being frittered away by our netas with the babus turning a blind eye.
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