The Wire Staff 
New Delhi: The Union government has on Tuesday, March 14, backed down on changes to guidelines regarding the use of Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) funds, or money that is made available to MPs for use in their constituencies – or states, in the case of Rajya Sabha MPs.
The proposed changes had led to consternation and opposition from some MPs like CPI(M)’s John Brittas, a member of the Rajya Sabha. He wrote in The Wire on Monday, March 13, to express concern about the fresh modification which was to come into effect on April 1, “the clause for mandatory allocation of 15% and 7.5% funds for Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) populated areas respectively has been watered down,” calling the changes centralising and less inclusive.
The Union government backed down on Tuesday and issued a ‘corrigendum’, titled, ‘Revised MPLADS Guidelines”. Now “works costing at least 15 percent of the total MPLADs entitlement for the year for areas inhabited by Scheduled Caste population and at least 7.5 percent of the total MPLADS entitlement for the year for areas inhabited by Scheduled Tribe population” remain mandatory, “in order to give due attention to the development of infrastructure in the areas inhabited by Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.”
The corrigendum to the revised MPLADS guidelines. Photo: By arrangement
Another change introduced earlier, excluding government-aided educational institutions from the ambit of MPLADS, has also been reversed and the money can be used by MPs “for creation of immovable public assets on Government owned land, and movable public assets for Government owned and Government controlled institutions only, i.e., the Central, State/UT and local Governments, including Government aided institutions.”
Brittas had argued for the MPLADS scheme to be made less centralised and of granting assistance to the poorest and those who are at the margins.
The corrigendum issued afresh also says, “Cooperative societies will be eligible for assistance under MPLADS at par with| registered trusts/ societies only for creating durable assets for the community and public utility buildings, except Cooperative Housing Societies.”
MPLADS was inaugurated in 1993 to enable members of parliament to be able to directly contribute towards the development demands of their constituency or state.