The Supreme Court upheld the Constitutional validity of the Member of Parliament Local Area Development scheme under which members of Parliament are allocated Rs 2 crore annually for development of their constituencies.
The government has said it is constantly working towards reviewing the improving the MPLAD scheme.
Heavy rains exacerbate the flood situation in Punjab, leading to 37 deaths and widespread crop damage. Rescue and relief operations are underway as authorities issue alerts and provide assistance to affected populations.
The Congress, Left parties, Trinamool Congress and some others were in the forefront of this attack on the government, which is set to garner around Rs 7,900 crore through the decision.
Member of Parliament can now allocate funds from their local area development scheme kitty for rural employment guarantee programmes. The move that comes just ahead of Budget is aimed at providing the much-needed fiscal cushion to operate the UPA's most ambitious social security programme, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA).
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved restoration and continuation of the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS), which was suspended in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.
'The pace of disbursement and project recommendation picks up as the tenure of the House draws near and usually all amount is released.'
Public Money, Private Agenda -- The Use and Abuse of MPLADS by A Surya Prakash provides a comprehensive look at the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme, which was launched 20 years ago in 1993. Excerpts from the book.
The Lok Sabha Secretariat on Thursday revoked the disqualification of Bahujan Samaj Party leader Afzal Ansari as a member of the Lower House after the Supreme Court conditionally suspended his conviction in a Gangsters Act case.
The country's premier B-school is all set to help MPs in effectively spend their grants so that maximum number of people can reap benefits. A group of students of Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad has taken up a project to study the spendings and suggest changes for the Rs 2 crore (Rs 20 million) grant given each year to parliamentarians under the MP Local Area Development (MPLAD) scheme.
We take a look at those MPs who are yet to spend their MPLADs funds
Ten members, who were expelled from the Lok Sabha on December 23 2005 following media reports alleging misuse of MPLAD scheme funds, had filed writ petitions in the Delhi High Court.
Many feel that the money from their MPLADS should go directly to a district hospital in their respective constituencies rather than a central fund like PM CARES. Archis Mohan reports.
Senior Congress leader B K Hariprasad's statements regarding ministerial and chief ministerial posts, along with his veiled dig at Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah seems to have created a sense of unease within the ruling party in Karnataka.
'This is a long haul, god knows where it will end.' 'So it is best to conserve all the funds right now for fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.'
'The opposition wants the country to run on the basis of Shariat but this cannot happen'
Replying to the debate on the bill, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said that funds are needed to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and "charity should begin from home".
'Dear PM, INC supports the salary cut for MPs. Please note that MPLAD is meant to execute developmental works in the constituency. Suspending it is a huge disservice to the constituents and will undermine the role and functions of MP,' Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said on Twitter.
Ahead of the 2022 assembly elections, Churchill Alemao 'merged' the NCP with the TMC. The 'merger' took place when Mamata Banerjee was in Mumbai talking to NCP supreme leader Sharad Pawar on how to forge Opposition unity!
Announcing the cabinet decision, Union minister Prakash Javadekar also said the President, the Vice President, Governors of states have also voluntarily decided to take a pay cut as a social responsibility.
Rediff Labs analysed the data on MPLADS to see how the money given to each constituency was spent.
'They have brought out a provision whereby the medium of education in the Hindi speaking states will be Hindi even in higher education institutions like IIT, IIM, etc.' 'Think about the students from the south who get admission in the IITs in Kanpur or Delhi or the IIMs in various places.'
'Saving our economy is a priority.' 'We have to save our people and save our country.'
CPI (M) politburo member Sitaram Yechury has outsourced the planning of the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme in West Bengal to IIM-A students. Students will be involved closely with the constituency's role in the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. 4-5 students will work on this project and will be guided by faculty advisors. This project will enable students to understand the working of government and public policy.
Redevelopment of the Central Vista Avenue, stretching from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate and has a deadline of December 2021, has achieved 60 per cent of physical progress, the Union housing and urban affairs ministry told the Lok Sabha on Thursday.
Unlike other government projects, most funds under MPLADS get spent - now to see if they're well-spent.
Why MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy and his party, the BJP, are angry with Pappu Yadav.
'This fund will enable micro-donations as a result of which a large number of people will be able to contribute with smallest of denominations,' a statement said. People can visit www.pmindia.gov.in to make contributions using credit and debit cards, UPI, net banking and RTGS or NEFT, it said.
Each 'adarsh village' should have piped drinking water, connectivity to the main road, electricity supply to all households, library, telecom and broadband connectivity including CCTVs in public areas. Emphasis will also be on e-governance, says Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday reviewed the impact of Covid-19 on the Indian economy and a possible second stimulus to boost sectors hit hard by the pandemic. Modi held discussions with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as the pandemic hit sectors from small industries to the aviation sector hard with millions of jobs at stake.
The three-time MP from Birbhum said she held talks with Abhishek Banerjee, nephew of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and he addressed all issues raised by her.
Sachin Tendulkar and Rekha's tenures in the Rajya Sabha end this month.
Maverick Member of Parliament Navjot Singh Sidhu has achieved yet another milestone in his career. He has outdone colleagues across party lines by becoming one of two legislators who spent the most amount of Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme funds in their respective constituencies.Placed marginally behind Trinamool Congress' Mamta Banerjee, the Bharatiya Janata Party firebrand has topped the list of MPs from his state in the usage of MPLADS funds.
Lok Sabha members of Parliament named in a television channel expose about corruption in MP Local Area Development scheme have filed their replies to the inquiry committee, set up by Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee.
'We have to get the party and its members to this day. We have to bring them to the present and see the realities of today. We must fight the elections with 22nd century ideas.' Former Congress MP Annu Tandon explains why she and the party lost the Lok Sabha election and how its fortunes can be revived.
Likening the situation in the country to a "social emergency", Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday made it clear that the nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of Covid-19 cannot be lifted in one go on April 14, asserting that the priority of his government is to "save each and every life".
However, Bajpai ruled out any possibility of an epic battle in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections between Sonia Gandhi and Arun Jaitley.
The opposition does not have any issue left so it is raking up Rafale deal issue, Rajnath Singh said.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggesting five measures to conserve money for the fight against COVID-19, including a complete ban on media advertisements by government and PSUs for two years and suspending the Central Vista beautification project.
The standing committee on home ministry on Friday unanimously recommended to the government that the devastation caused by floods in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh be declared a national calamity.
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