Govt says Rs 5,275 cr remains unspent under MPLAD scheme

A cumulative amount of Rs 5,275.24 crore remained unspent under Members of Parliament Local Area Development (MPLAD) scheme as on March 4, 2020, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.

The government released Rs 53,704.75 crore under MPLAD scheme out of which Rs 51,267.75 crore was spent as on March 4, 2020, Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

As per the data given by the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation, Rs 5,275.24 was the "unspent fund" as on March 4.

The unspent amount under the scheme was Rs 4,103.97 crore on March 31, 2019; Rs 4,877.71 crore on March 31, 2018 and Rs 5,029.31 crore on March 31, 2017.

Under MPLAD scheme, each Member of Parliament has the choice to suggest to the District Collector for development works to the tune of Rs 5 crore per annum to be taken up in his/her constituency.

Rajya Sabha MPs can recommend works in one or more districts in the State from where he/she has been elected. The nominated members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha may select any one or more districts from any one State for implementation of their choice of work under the scheme.

"Given the nature and dynamics of the scheme, unspent balances are bound to exist at any given point of time, as the funds released under the scheme are non-lapsable and the funds received by a district in a particular year can be utilized in the subsequent financial year(s) also.

"Moreover, unspent balance is not an unused fund but also includes the funds in pipeline for implementation of ongoing works," the Minister of State for Statistics & Programme Implementation said.