Opposition protests move to use MPLAD funds in Swachh mission

New Delhi: Opposition parties including the Congress on Wednesday strongly opposed any move to allow the MPs Local Area Development (MPLAD) funds to be used for Swachh Bharat Mission, prompting the government to say that no decision has been taken in this regard. [caption id=“attachment_2218764” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Prime Minister Modi participating in the Swachh Bharat campaign. PTI[/caption] Replying to a question on implementation of the Swachh Bharat Mission in Lok Sabha, Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu suggested that the House could discuss whether the MPLAD funds could be used for the special initiative of the NDA government for cleanliness. This invited strong protests from opposition members, including Jyotiraditya Scindia and KC Venugopal (both Congress), who said they would not allow any such move. When Dharamvir Gandhi (AAP) also protested on the issue, Naidu retorted “you have Gandhi in your name. You should take part in this mission also”. Naidu, however, made it clear that no such decision has been taken and his statement was just a suggestion. “Let the MPLAD Committee take a decision,” he said. An MP is entitled to Rs 5 crore every year to carry out various development initiative in his or her constituency. The Minister said the estimated cost of implementing the Swachh Bharat Mission (urban) for its various components was Rs 62,009 crore, of which Centre’s share was Rs 14,623 crore. Swachh Bharat Mission is a special cleanliness programme undertaken at the initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Naidu said a minimum additional amount equivalent to 25 percent of the central funding, worth Rs 4,874 crore, will be contributed by the states as urban bodies’ share. It will be 10 percent in case of Northeast and special category states. “The balance fund is proposed to be generated through various other sources such as private sector participation, additional resources from state governments, beneficiary share, corporate social responsibility, user charges, land leveraging, Swachh Bharat Kosh, market borrowing and external assistance,” he said. Naidu said the central government has accepted the 14th Finance Commission recommendations to provide Rs 87,143.8 crore to urban local bodies in next five years, which was 600 percent more than the allocation given to urban local bodies during 13th Finance Commission (2010-15). During 13th Finance Commission, the Centre had released Rs 14,566.85 crore to urban local bodies of all states. Naidu said under the New Urban Rejuvenation Mission programme being formulated in the Ministry, it is proposed to strengthen urban local bodies by undertaking a set of reforms which will increase their financial capabilities. He said the Urban Development Ministry was hand-holding the states for implementation of the Swachh Bharat Mission to ensure that the targets are met by 2 October, 2019. Four regional consultative workshops in Hyderabad, New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata and two state level consultative workshops at Bengaluru and Vijaywada have been held to sensitise the state, urban local bodies. The Urban Development Ministry has also launched a dedicated web portal which provides all information pertaining to the mission. In addition, direct interaction with the states/ urban local bodies is regularly made through video conference and a web cast with all April 2015 for the Swachh Bharat Mission, he said. PTI