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RS chair calls for debate, national policy on freebies
The MPLADS scheme allows lawmakers to suggest developmental works in their constituencies, such as the construction of roads, schools and other physical infrastructure.
New Delhi Lawmakers need to deliberate on issues related to investment and freebies as the country’s growth hinges on capital expenditure, Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Wednesday, highlighting on “an urgent need for a national policy” so that government investments are “used in a structured manner for larger good”.
“On placatory mechanisms, on appeasement, which is often known as freebies, this House needs to deliberate...Because the country grows only with capex being available. Electoral process is such that these have become electoral allurements and thereafter the governments that came in saddle found themselves very uncomfortable, so uncomfortable that they wanted to revisit their thoughts,” Dhankhar said, soon after senior Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav raised the issue of hiking the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLAD) funds from ₹5 crore to ₹20 crore.
He added: “There is an urgent need for a national policy so that all investments of the government in any form are used in a structured manner for the larger good.”
Speaking during Zero Hour, Yadav said the funds are inadequate to carry out various projects in the constituencies given the inflation and GST that is imposed on the spending. “One third of the Lok Sabha MPs lose elections because of MPLAD... in several states including Uttar Pradesh and Delhi the funds allocated to MLAs for spending are more than the MPLAD sanctioned,” he said.
The MPLADS scheme allows lawmakers to suggest developmental works in their constituencies, such as the construction of roads, schools and other physical infrastructure.
As several lawmakers cutting across party lines agreed with Yadav’s demand, the chairperson noted that the constitution provided for Legislature, MPs, MLAs, but did not have a uniform mechanism.
Referring to the difference in allocation of funds for work as well as remuneration of elected representatives, Dhankhar said: “You will find legislatures in several states give perks and salaries to members of the assembly, much beyond members of Parliament, and even the pension variation for a former member of the assembly is on a scale of 1 to 10. If in one state, one is getting one rupee, in the other state the pension will be 10 times, and therefore, since these are the issues where legislation can deal with the issue and it will help the politician, it will help the government, it will help the executive and it will also ensure high quality of investment.”
The chairman also raised the issue of subsidies.
“Subsidies, if required in areas like the farm sector, should be direct, and that is the practice in developed countries. I checked with the U.S. mechanism. The U.S. has 1/5th of farm households as our country but the average income of U.S. farm households is more than the general income of U.S. households, and that is because the subsidy to the farmer is direct, transparent, without intermediary,” he said.
