On MPLADS, emulating Bihar would have been better

In his reply to the general discussion on the Union Budget, the finance minister sprang a surprise of sorts when he announced a hike in the local area development scheme of members of Parliament (MPLADS) by a hefty 150% to Rs5 per annum.

This scheme has been controversy-ridden, and the government has been seized of the report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). The least the Centre would have done is to reform the scheme and address the concerns voiced by the CAG before taking this hasty step.

There is, however, a basic issue to be addressed. Clearly, a decision of this sort has been in the works for some time. If so, the right place to make this disclosure would have in the budget speech itself.

This is not an omission because in the demands for grants pertaining to the Ministry of Statistics and Plan Implementation, there is a provision of Rs1,580 crore for the MPLADS. Thanks to the increase in the corpus by Rs3 crore, the expenditure incurred would swell to Rs2,370 crore.

Thus, even before the next fiscal year is to start, the spending arithmetic has gone awry, not due to unforeseen circumstances but as a result of uncalled-for largesse.

Why this tearing hurry?

One can only guess. After the elections in five states, there may be a need for political realignment and a policy of appeasement may be in order.

The MPLADS comes handy.

Already, there are straws in the wind. The budget session - normally the longest and most important — is to be curtailed so that the MPs can devote their energies to campaigning in the state elections. The people’s representatives do not appear to be averse, even though the whole process of subjecting the budget to debate, scrutiny and voting has been reduced to a mockery. This time around, the guillotine will be resorted to rather ruthlessly.

Consider the following and one can discern a method and meaning in the government’s actions to placate the MPs.

• The first was the generous increase in their pay and perks during the monsoon session.
• The second was a climb-down in the matter of setting up a Joint Parliamentary Committee — the stalemate over this issue had rendered the winter session a total washout — paving the way for a smooth budget session.
• The third is the announcement by the finance minister that each member of Parliament would receive `5 crore from next fiscal, an increase of 150%, to undertake works of a capital nature in his/her constituency.

A scheme that was plagued by controversy since its inception in 1993 thus gets a new lease of life instead of being wound up.
Though the Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the MPLADS since its inception in late 1993, the scheme has had a chequered history.

Widespread corruption and misuse of funds have been reported; many projects have seen time-overruns; and several sanctioned projects have not taken off. Monitoring is poor and the public have been treated to scandals in the way the schemes are operated.

However, the basic flaw is the blurring of the separation of powers between the executive and legislative wings of the government. While the latter is expected to be watchdog of the manner in which the exchequer spends the money, what happens when the MPs themselves are allowed to spend the money under MPLADS?

Ironically, even the CAG reports are supposed to be examined by the MPs and how objective they will be when they themselves are part of the scrutiny?

Ideally, the scheme should be scrapped and the amount involved should be part of the Centre’s plan assistance to states. After all, developmental works cannot be undertaken in a piecemeal fashion but be dovetailed to the larger state plans. Obviously, MPs have a vested interest in the continuance of the scheme with a larger fund allocation. The finance minister has obliged them, though mercifully, the amount is still short of Rs10 crore proposed by the standing committee of Parliament.

A radical alternative is to emulate the example set by the government of Bihar.

The state chief minister, Nitish Kumar, has modified the scheme as part of the wider battle against corruption.

Instead of scrapping it in toto, he had simply changed its character beyond recognition.

Under the CM area development programme at the district level, the state legislators can still suggest schemes and development works in their constituencies along with the minister-in-charge, but the implementation will be the responsibility of a body of engineers headed by the engineer-in-chief.

One would have expected the Centre to, if not carry out a reform on similar lines, at least maintain the status quo in regard to the size of the allocation.