New Delhi, Feb. 16: The Centre today admitted before the Supreme Court that there were flaws in the guidelines for the implementation of the MP local area development scheme (MPLADS).

The scheme, under which every MP receives Rs 2 crore every year for development work in his/her constituency, was recently hit by controversy after a TV channel showed some MPs allegedly taking bribes to award contracts.

The court was hearing arguments on a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the scheme.

When it was pointed out that MPs enjoyed wide discretion in deciding on the nature of work, additional solicitor-general Mohan Parasaran said there were some “drawbacks” in the guidelines, but they could be rectified.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Y.K. Sabharwal, however, told him that the court was looking into the constitutional validity of the guidelines as it stood on date.

Earlier, the court had said there was an “inherent danger” of arbitrariness creeping in as MPs could misuse their power in the absence of proper guidelines. It noted that MPs had no accountability and there was no one to monitor expenditure.