MPLAD Scheme

MPLAD Scheme- Relevance for UPSC Exam

GS Paper 2: Governance, Administration and Challenges- Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes;
- Mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.

Recently, the Union Cabinet restored the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS), citing the country’s economic recovery.
MPLAD Scheme was suspended in April 2020 subsuming the funds for the scheme in the consolidated fund of India.
The scheme was suspended for two financial years (2020-21 and 2021-22) but the Government announced a partial rollback. The MPs will get ₹2 crores instead of the annually approved ₹5 crores.

About: The MPLAD scheme was started in 1993 to enable Members of Parliament (MPs) to build durable assets in their respective constituencies.
Key Objective: to enable MPs to recommend works of developmental nature with emphasis on the creation of durable community assets in the areas of drinking water, primary education, public health, sanitation and roads, etc. primarily in their Constituencies.
Parent Ministry: MPLAD scheme is a Central Sector Scheme and is being implemented by the Ministry of Statistics & Program Implementation (MoSPI) since 1994.
- Previously, MPLAD Scheme was under the control of the Ministry of Rural Development and Planning and transferred to the MoSPI in 1994.
Funding: Under the MPLAD scheme, every MP (including nominated) is entitled to spend Rs 5 crore annually.

Implementation of Projects under MPLAD Scheme:
- Lok Sabha MPs: They have to recommend the district authorities’ projects in their Lok Sabha constituencies.
- Rajya Sabha MPs: They have to spend it in the state that has elected them to the House.
- Nominated Members of both the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha: They can recommend works anywhere in the country.
‘Guidelines on Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS)’ published by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation in June 2016 states that
- The MPLAD funds can also be used for implementation of the schemes such as-
  - Swachh Bharat Abhiyan,
  - Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan),
  - Conservation of water through rainwater harvesting and
  - Sansad Aadarsh Gram Yojana, etc.