Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme
MPLAD is a federal government initiative that allows MPs to propose development schemes worth Rs 5 crore per year in their areas. MPs from both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, including appointed members, are eligible to participate.
States have their variant of this model, with varying quantities of funds allocated to each MLA. The greatest expenditure under MLALAD is in Delhi, where each MLA can approve projects worth up to Rs 10 crore every year. In Punjab and Kerala, the amount is Rs 5 crore per MLA every year; in Assam, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka, it is Rs 2 crore; and in Uttar Pradesh, it was raised from Rs 2 crore to Rs 3 crore.
The termination of the MPLAD Scheme would provide the government with Rs 7,800 crore. This is just 4.5 percent of the Rs 1.70 lakh crore relief package provided under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana for the needy.
MPs from the opposition have responded angrily. The action, according to Adhir Ranjan Choudhary, head of the Congress Legislature Party in the Lok Sabha, is a 'gross injustice' to people's representatives. The migration of MPLAD money, according to RJD MP Manoj Jha, would centralize their management and reduce the effectiveness of their transfers.