MLA fund raised from Rs 4 cr to Rs 7 cr

New Delhi: The MLA Local Area Development (MLALAD) fund for each Delhi legislator has been raised from Rs 4 crore to Rs 7 crore, Urban Development minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said in the Assembly on Friday.

The minister gave the information during the winter session of the Delhi Assembly.

Giving reply to a question on MLALAD funds asked by a member of the House, Bharadwaj said that an amount of Rs 110 crore has been provisioned in the revised estimates of budget 2023-24. The remaining 100 crore will be allocated in the budget for the next financial year, he said.

The minister further said that each MLA of the Delhi Assembly was provided Rs 10 crore under the MLALAD funds during 2018-19 and 2019-20. Due to

COVID, no fund was allocated to any MLA during 2020-21.

After COVID, each MLA was provided Rs 4 crore as MLALAD fund in 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24. Recently, the government enhanced it to Rs 7 crore from the existing Rs 4 crore, he stated.

The MLALAD fund was provided to the Delhi MLAs from 2017-18 to undertake development works in their constituencies. An amount of Rs 4 crore was provided to the MLAs in 2017-18 which was later raised to Rs 10 crore in 2018-19 as per decision by the Delhi government.

The unspent amount of MLALAD fund of an MLA does not lapse and is added to the allocation for the next financial year, the minister replied.

As per Delhi government data, Rs 280 crore were allocated under the MLALAD fund, in the 2021-22 financial year out of which Rs 223 crore were spent.

In 2022-23, Rs 300 crore was allocated out of

which Rs 222 crore were spent. In 2013-24, out of Rs 300

crore, Rs 103 crore was spent and Rs 197 crore were in balance.

The Delhi Assembly has a strength of 70 MLAs.