Jamshedpur, Aug. 30: Members of Parliament of the state want more in terms of funds and facilities in order to serve people “better”.
During a recent meeting at New Delhi with Union statistical and programme implementation minister Oscar Fernandes on how to make use of money under the MP Local Area Development (MPLAD) funds, some of the state’s MPs demanded that the funds be enhanced.
They argued this was necessary since increased funds under MPLAD would ensure that the money is equally distributed among all the Assembly segments under a particular constituency. These MPs were reportedly supported by some of their colleagues from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
“At present, we are given Rs 2 crore a year under MPLAD funds. But we have demanded that this amount be raised to Rs 6 crore annually. We feel Rs 2 crore is too meagre a sum to do justice to all the Assembly segments that are within our parlia-mentary constituency,” Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) Rajya Sabha MP Stephen Marandi, said.
A Congress MP, requesting anonymity, said not only was Fernandes flooded with suggestions to increase the funds under MPLAD, “some of our colleagues even went to the extent of suggesting that the MPs be given permission to buy cars from the fund so they could visit the remote parts of their constituencies.”
“According to them, they would not use the MPLAD funds directly to buy cars. But since this amount is kept in banks, they suggested that they be allowed to use the interest buy the cars,” he said.
However, the Congress MP defended his colleagues’ demand for new cars. “There are few MPs who can afford cars on their own. So it is would not be a bad idea for the Centre to allow them to use the interest earned from the MPLAD funds to purchase cars,” he said.
The Union minister, it was learnt, did not give the MPs any assurance on the matter. “He said a decision would be taken after the views of MPs of other states are also taken into consideration,” sources said.
However questions are being raised whether the MPs demanding a hike in MPLAD funds and cars could guarantee development in their constituency.
“It is an open secret that there are very few MPs who utilise funds under MPLAD properly. Most of them either spend it at the fag end of a financial year or just before elections. So what is the use increasing the amount of funds,” said a bureaucrat.
