Annual Review of MPLADS Program

Maximum Percentage Utilization of funds by Lakshadweep, A& N Islands, Kerala, Maharashtra and Tamilnadu

Union Minister DV Sadananda Gowda calls upon states to take steps to ensure effective utilization of funds, reduce the pendency and settle the accounts.

The 21^st All India Review Meeting on Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) was held under the Chairmanship of Union Minister of Statistics &Program Implementation Sh. D. V. Sadananda Gowdain the national capital today. Nodal Secretaries from States/UTs overseeing the implementation of MPLADS scheme took part in the deliberations. The focus was on issues related to the implementation of MPLADS with the States/UTs so that the Ministry can take steps to address these for further improvements in its implementation.

Major Issues:

Major Agenda Items, discussed during the meeting, include - Status of pending installments, progress on utilization of MPLADS Fund, Status of works recommended and progress of sanctioned works in Natural Calamities area, VIP reference/Grievances, Review Meetings of MPLADS at State level, Closure of accounts, Recent modification in guidelines etc.

It was pointed out that the major problems being faced in the implementation of the Scheme at the District levelincludenon submission of requisite documents in time to the Ministry such as Audit Certificate, Utilization Certificate, Provisional Utilization Certificate, Monthly Progress Report, Bank Statement and Online Monthly Progress Report. 

Performance:

Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Punjab, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, West Bengal, Gujarat, Odisha are best performing States/UTs in terms of uploading the information (Monthly Progress Report and Work-wise details) on the MPLADS web Portal.

UTs like Lakshadweep, A& N Islands and States of Kerala, Maharashtra and Tamilnadu are amongst the higher side of the performance having maximum percentage utilization of funds over release.

Works under MPLADS:

 Since April, 2014 out of 4,67,144 works recommended  by the MPs (Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha), 4,11,612 works have been sanctioned and 3,84,260 works have been completed upto 31^st July, 2018.  Since inception, till 31.07.2018, ₹ 47,922.75 Crores have been released under the Scheme and works of ₹ 49,065.58. Crores have been sanctioned by the District Authorities.  Of the total release since inception, ₹ 45604.94 Crore have been utilized. This is more than ninety-five percent of the release.

Addressing the participants at the inaugural session, the Minister of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Sh. D. V. Sadananda Gowda, mentioned that the MPLADS scheme was introduced in the year 1993 and it has completed 25 years- a Silver Jubilee Year. He congratulated all the stakeholders on this occasion. He called upon the District Authorities to sanction the recommended eligible works and make full efforts to speed up the utilization. He expressed concern over delay in responding to the references received from the MPs/VIPs and even common persons and requested the State Government officials to respond to all the complaints in a time bound manner. He urged the MPs to contribute towards rehabilitation works in Kerala in wake of recent floods there causing widespread destruction to the lives and property. The Minister hoped the deliberations and discussions during the technical sessions would go a long way to further improve implementation of the Scheme. 

The Secretary MOSPI, KV Eapenhighlighted the role and responsibility of different stakeholders of the Scheme. He emphasized the need of timely utilization of previous releases and furnishing the required documents for further releases.  He expressed hope that the deliberations would help resolve all the related issues and would chalk out a future course of action for effective and much better utilization of the funds provided under the MPLADS Scheme.

Initiatives under MPLADS:

Some of the new initiatives undertaken recently by this Ministry include issue of a Monthly Bulletin to keep the MPs informed about the Status of his funds as also that of works recommended by him, uploading the beta version of the revamped integrated MPLADS Portal, providing an informative Dashboard at www.mplads.gov.in for use of MPs and citizens, initiation of geo tagging of all the works on the portal which would facilitate the States/ UTs in sharing the best practices /works being done under the Scheme.

Guidelines on MPLAD Scheme mandates all District Authorities and Implementing Agencies to mandatorily carry out expenditure the Scheme, using PFMS Expenditure, Advance and Transfer (EAT) Module with immediate effect.  The same instructions have been reiterated by the Ministry of Finance. For this, all Functionaries upto the level of Implementing Agencies are to be trained on EAT module.  Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation has proposed training through Video Conferencing during 15^th September 2018 to 15^th October 2018 in batches.

Fund utilization urged with mandatory documentation and timely sanction to improve program efficiency and reporting by stakeholders. The review directs improved implementation and fund utilization under MPLADS by remedying delays in sanctioning, completion and accounting of works through timely submission of mandatory documents, prompt responses to references, enhanced portal reporting and transparency measures, and by requiring immediate use of the PFMS Expenditure, Advance and Transfer (EAT) Module together with training of all functionaries to ensure compliance and expedite further releases.