Gross violation of guidelines in MPLADS, says book

A Surya Prakash, columnist has accused the MPs of investing the fund of MPLADS in private trusts, societies created by them

Questioning continuance of the MPLADS, a book has pointed out a number of anomalies in the schemes being implemented under the programme, which has seen a five-fold increase in its corpus to Rs 5 crore since it inception twenty years ago.

In his book "Public Money, Private Agenda- The Use and Abuse of MPLADS," by columnist A Surya Prakash talks about some "worrying trends" in the implementation of the scheme and "gross violation of guidelines".

Citing instances, he has accused the MPs of investing the fund of MPLADS in private trusts and societies created by them and constantly resisting transparency and accountability.

He pointed out the lack of regular and transparent monitoring of the scheme under which a colossal amount of Rs 4000 crore is being spent per annum.

Prakash also traces how the MPs keen to ensure that their contributions via the programme were permanently etched in stone got amendments done in a particular clause of the guidelines.

Some of the interesting facts, the book mentions is private coaching classes being conducted in a gymnasium built with these funds in Goa, a public health centre built for Lions Club in Marmagoa having been rented out to a medical general practitioner, construction of a commercial market complex at Khumbong in Imphal- all in violation of the MPLADS guidelines.

It refers to incidents of using MPLADS funds to renovate a college principal's room and to provide "marble flooring" in a building.