Tamilnadu government issues GO allotting RS 352.5 crore for MLA constituency development scheme
A Government Order (GO) allotting Rs 352.5 crore for Member of Legislative Assembly Constituency Development Scheme (MLACDS) has been issued.
ccording to the GO, Rs 3 crore has been allotted to each MLA and for 2021-22. Each MLA will receive Rs 1.5 crore to spend on developmental works in their constituency. The fund, which was enhanced to Rs 3 crore in 2019, was scaled down to Rs 2 crore in 2020 owing to the spread of COVID-19 and now the limit has been revised to previous allocation of Rs 3 crore.
However, the key part of the order was the detailed guidelines issued by the Department of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj in which the details of amount to be spent has been listed. According to the guidelines, an MLA has to spend at least 22 per cent of the fund for areas inhabited by Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
“There is a greater need to develop areas inhabited by SCs and STs in order to give special attention for works costing at least 22 per cent of the MLACDS entitlement,” the GO stated.