Not even 15% of alloted MLA funds have been used

SPEND YOUR FUNDS: The MLA fund does not lapse at the close of the financial year and can be carried forward to the next year.

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A majority of MLAs in UP have not even spent 15 per cent of the funds allotted to them under the MLA constituency fund. The Government's promises thus remain as just promises and the common man is left to fend for himself.

According to the department of rural development, the nodal agency for monitoring MLA constituency fund, a whopping Rs 638 crore was approved in the financial year 2007-2008 in Uttar Pradesh.

However, not even half was utilised. In districts such as Kanpur Dehat the MLAs have spent only 11 per cent of their money while in Farukhabad the figure stands at 13 per cent.

Significantly, a majority of the MLAs in these two districts belong to the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party. A worried Mayawati government has now asked all MLAs to use this amount at the earliest.

“I have written a letter to the MLAs,” says Minister, Rural Development, Daddu Prasad.

Less spending means less or no development work and people are forced to live without basic amenities. However, the question is why are our MLAs reluctant to spend the funds?

“Local bodies do not work properly. Till the time pending work is not finished, how will new assignments take shape,” says BJP, MLA, Lal ji Tandon.

MLA constituency fund was started in 1998 and each MLA is allotted Rs 1.25 crore under this scheme every year. The MLA fund does not lapse at the close of the financial year and can be carried forward to the next year.

However, in private most MLAs candidly say that given a choice they would spend maximum amount of his fund just before the elections.