'MPs should create a model village in their constituencies'

Each member of Parliament (MP) will choose and develop a small village in his or her constituency as a model village, Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed in his Independence Day speech.

He also announced the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana scheme, whose blueprint would be unveiled on October 11, the birth anniversary of Jayaprakash Narayan. Stressing on the need to start development from the grass roots, Modi said: "If we have to build the nation, we have to start from the villages".

Outlining the scheme, Modi said each MP would be able to choose a small village with a population of between 3,000 and 5,000 and develop it as a model village with proper facilities of education, health, cleanliness, and sanitation over a period of one year. Stressing on the proper implementation of the scheme, he added that thousands of villages would benefit and also provide inspiration to other villages in the vicinity.

Modi said he would urge state governments to join the efforts and encourage members of their state legislative Assemblies to similarly develop model villages in their constituencies.

As of now, MPs are allotted Rs 5 crore a year for the development of the public utility works needed by the local population in their constituencies. If unused, the funds will not lapse; they will accumulate over time.

As of July 31 this year, Rs 34,196.94 crore has been released as MP funds, out of which Rs 30,651.48 is expenditure incurred and Rs 3,545.46 crore is unspent balance.

In the 15th Lok Sabha when the United Progressive Alliance was in power, Rs 9,208.5 crore was released, out of which Rs 7846.19 crore was spent.