The government has decided to release the pending instalments under the Member of Parliament Local Area Development (MPLAD) scheme till March 31, 2020, on first priority, Parliament was informed on Thursday.
"The government has decided to release the pending instalments of 2019-20 on first priority," Statistics Minister Rao Inderjit Singh said in a written reply to a query in the Rajya Sabha.
According to the reply, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has issued a circular in this regard on March 17, 2021.
The minister told the House, "The ministry has received demands/requests from Members of Parliament and Nodal District Authorities for release of pending instalments due up to March 31, 2020, to resume the ongoing works and clear the committed liabilities under MPLADS."
As an immediate response to Covid-19, the Union Cabinet in its meeting held on April 6, 2021, decided not to operate the MPLAD scheme during 2020-21 and 2021-22. It had decided to place the MPLADS funds for 2020-21 and 2021-22 at the disposal of the finance ministry to strengthen its efforts in managing the Covid-19 challenges.
(Published 25 March 2021, 12:08 IST)
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