The Delhi Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Atishi, on Thursday, approved a 50 per cent hike in MLA-LAD (Local Area Development) fund.
With this, Delhi legislators will get an increased fund of Rs 15 crore each per year from Rs 10 crore.
Announcing the hike in MLA-LAD funds during a press conference, the chief minister and Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said now Delhi has become a state with the highest MLA fund allocation in the country.
Emphasizing the importance of the MLA fund in a democracy, Atishi said it is a crucial mechanism to initiate development projects by legislators in their constituencies. “Today, there was an important meeting of the Delhi government’s Cabinet at the Delhi Secretariat, where a major decision was made regarding the MLA-LAD Fund. The MLA-LAD Fund is a very important fund in a democracy through which residents can get small or large development works done through their MLA,” the CM added.
“The MLA Fund represents the voice of the people to get their work done. Today, the Delhi Cabinet has made a significant decision by increasing the MLA Fund from Rs 10 crores per year to Rs 15 crores per year. No other state in the country provides such a large MLA Fund as Delhi,” she asserted.
Comparing the fund with that of other states, Atishi noted that Gujarat allocates Rs 1.5 crore per MLA constituency while states like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka provide Rs 2 crore.
She said even larger states such as Maharashtra, Kerala, and Rajasthan allocate only Rs 5 crore.
Speaking on the occasion, Bharadwaj elaborated on the rationale behind the increase, particularly in light of the damage caused by this year’s heavy rains, saying local problems related to roads and sewers should be fixed on fasttrack with the fund boost.
The minister said, “This year, Delhi experienced a lot of rain that caused damage to roads, parks, walkways, and walls. Due to the increased rain, there were issues with sewers in many places with sewer lines being clogged or silted up, and new sewer lines have been laid. MLAs have been regularly bringing these issues to our attention, and the increased MLA Fund will enable them to quickly provide relief without waiting for long departmental sanctions,” he added.
“I believe the main reason for increasing this fund is that many projects get delayed due to departmental sanctions. This fund will allow MLAs to provide immediate relief to the public,” he added.