UNUTILISED MPLADS FUNDS

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LOK SABHA

According to the information available on March 31, 2003, the unspent balance of MPLADS funds with District Heads was Rs. 2225.10 crore. This amounts to 21.2 per cent of the funds released since the inception of the scheme.

In a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today the Minister of State for Statistics and Programme Implementation Shri S.B.Mookherjee gave this information. He stated that the unspent balance at the end of the years 2001, 2002 and 2003 was Rs. 2448.31 crore, 2287.62 crore and Rs. 2225.10 crore respectively.

To utilize these unspent funds State Governments and UT Administrations have been requested to issue instructions to their District Heads to give top priority to the works under the MPLAD Scheme. They have also been advised to ensure that the funds allotted to the implementing agencies are kept in separate savings accounts with nationalized banks for easy availability. The District Heads have been advised to hold review meetings at frequent intervals to sort out implementational problems and ensure better utilization. There has been a progressive improvement in the cumulative expenditure as a percentage of the cumulative release of funds under the Scheme from 54.6% on 31.3.1998 to 78.8% on 31.3.2002.