UPA appointed Governors must resign....................

New government headed by Honourable Modiji was elected with thumping majority by the people but the Governors appointed by the UPA Government are still clinging to the chair and trying their best to save it..This is unethical,and illegal .Everybody knows that the Governors are appointed as their representative in states by the central government in power at that time.Once the government has changed,they should have resigned from the post automatically.But the fact of the matter is that most of them have not resigned so far despite being told to do so by the Central Government.Congress ,too, is supporting them to create confusion and legal difficulties for the Central Government without perhaps remembering that they themselves had removed several BJP/NDA appointed Governors in 2004 in similar situation.

It is appropriate that the Governors appointed by the UPA Government resign without delay failing which the Central Government should remove them as per existing precedents in this regard.

Prime Minister to keep a watch over MPLADS

To-day`s newspapers have reported that the Honourable Prime  Minister will keep watch over the MPLADS. As per news, the development works being done under this scheme will be watched by third party specially in cases where the expenditure involved is more than Rs 25 lacs.The projects being done under this scheme for societies,trusts,or NGO will also be kept under watch.If this is really done ,it will be a great thing as an amount of about Rs twenty five thousand crores are proposed to be spent during next five years under  this scheme and so many things were  being heard about the unfair practices being done in implementation of such schemes.

Let us hope that things will surely improve now given the fact that the matter is being looked into at the highest level!

stopping the officers/private persons who were Private Secretaries/OSD in the previous government............

The Honorable Prime Minister Modiji has done a wonderful thing by stopping the officers/private persons who were Private Secretaries/OSD in the previous government,from taking similar posts under the present government.This will help the  present government Ministers in many ways which hardly needs to be detailed.The fact of the matter is that the power brokers used to remain the same whosoever became the Minister.There is no dearth of talented officers in the country and it would be inthe fitness of things that new setof officers take over in these sensitive posts.

Let us hope this government fulfills the difficult task to protect and strengthen Mother India!

increase in railway fair is justified but....

The decision of the Central Government to increase the rail fair is wholly justified. Successive Rail Ministers have failed to perform this unpleasant task which is responsible for present precarious condition of the railways. If we want the railways to improve, we must be ready to pay for then services it provides.

 

It is,however,inportant that the government  also makes efforts for increasing facilities for the travelling passangers.first of all, the railway reservation system needs complete overrhauling. The booking of tatkal ticket over internet is a total failure. Security of passengers in the trains needs to be improved .More trains have to be provided during peak seasons. New railway lines should be developed in backward areas and for all these things railways will need money. Let us, therefore, cooperate with the Central Government in their efforts to make improvements in the railways.

 

It is common knowledge that the previous Rail Ministers have been more concerned with their political future than the future of the country. We must say good bye to the subsidies and freebies.Let us pay for the facilities we take. But then the Central Government should ensure that our railways are really world class and for that the people of India ,too, will have to cooperate with the hard policy decisions  being taken by the Central Government.

Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS).should be abolished

  Under the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS), each MP has the choice to suggest to the District Collector for, works to the tune of Rs.5 Crores per annum to be taken up in his/her constituency. The Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament can recommend works in one or more districts in the State from where he/she has been elected. The Nominated Members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha may select any Districts from any State in the Country for implementation of their choice of work under the scheme.

The MPs identify works, which are allowed under the guidelines, and recommend them to the District Authority, which in turn is responsible for the overall implementation of the works. It is the responsibility of the District Authority to scrutinise and sanction the recommended works and to identify an implementing agency to execute the work. Local self governments such as the Panchayati Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies, government departments (such as Housing Boards, Electricity Boards and Urban Development Authorities), or reputed NGOs can be selected for implementing works.

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation formulates the guidelines, releases funds, and monitors implementation. At the State level, a nodal department is responsible for coordinating, monitoring and supervising the implementation along with other relevant departments and the District Authorities. 

MPLADS has been in contention since its very inception. There are a number of issues which plague the scheme. First is the issue of corruption - there have been cases of widespread corruption and mis appropriation of funds. In a lot of cases, private contractors (which are not permitted) are engaged to implement the works.¹  Also, there have been instances where expenditure has been incurred on works which are prohibited under the scheme.²  Second relates to funding - there are large amounts of unspent balances rising over the years, low utilisation of funds and an expenditure bias towards a particular sector. A significant number of MPs are yet to open a bank account.³  Third relates to delivery - there are weaknesses in the process of sanction. The District Authorities tend to execute works without receiving any recommendations from MPs concerned or on the recommendation of the representatives of the MPs rather than the MPs themselves. Further, there are lapses on the monitoring and supervision front, with the District Authorities failing to inspect the required number of sanctioned works as well as in sending regular monitoring reports.⁴  Fourth issue relates to the sustainability of the scheme - there have been charges that the scheme goes against the spirit of the 73rd and the 74th Amendment, with MPs enjoying the privilege of an uninterrupted yearly flow of funds to do the work which local bodies are better placed to deliver. The constitutionality of the scheme has also been questioned, with the argument that the scheme erodes the notion of separation of powers, as the legislator directly becomes the executive.⁵ 

Along with these, there are other issues such as - lack of adequate information available to MPs, which sometimes leads to a disproportionately large amount of money flowing into one district. There also seems to be an absence of a proper mechanism to ensure constituent participation in order to determine locally felt needs, leaving open the possibility of a small group, having easy access to the MPs, impressing upon him to recommend works according to their needs.

The Comptroller and Auditor General has examined this scheme thrice and the government has sponsored independent surveys to assess the scheme. On each of these occasions, the auditors and surveyors have expressed concern over lack of supervision at the district level and gross violation of guidelines by MPs. But, there is no sign of credibility measures to set matters right.

The CAG also found that contracts were awarded without adopting standard tendering processes. Another irregularity was the absence of financial sanction and administrative approval. Auditors found that 26 per cent of the works were executed without sanction in four states that were surveyed by them.

The auditors have also come up with evidence which establishes fraud. Some samples of state- and district-level records showed misappropriation of funds in some states including West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar and Mizoram. School classrooms which were “constructed” by village education committees were nowhere to be found. An FIR had to be lodged with the police about the missing classroom! In Jharkhand a company took an advance of Rs 8 lakh for installing solar water pumps and vanished. In Bihar, officials of the National Rural Employment Programme were duping the government by claiming MPLADS funds for roads already constructed.

In Sikkim, funds from this scheme were used to construct anti-erosion bunds and walls to protect the private property of the MP and his relatives. Of 22 works sanctioned, all but one related to private property and in a dozen cases the contractors were also the beneficiaries. But, the biggest area of misuse is allocation of these funds to trusts and societies, often controlled by the MPs themselves. In ten states, the CAG found that funds in excess of the prescribed ceiling per society or trust had been released. In seven states, auditors found that 145 ineligible societies and trusts were given funds. Finally, the accounts are not audited regularly.  The auditors found 40 such districts. Strangely, the accounts of one DA (District Authority) in Jammu and Kashmir and one DA in  Lakshadweep had not been audited since the inception of the scheme in 1993!(Public Money, Private Agenda -- The Use and Abuse of MPLADSby A Surya Prakash)

This is clearly an executive function which should be handled directly by the Central/State Gpvernments .There is lot of murmuring in the public about functioning of this scheme which may or may not be correct but the fact is that that  the scheme involves huge funds which could be better utilized by direct involvement of the executive.

The new central government should  look into the matter and abolish the scheme and utilize the funds so saved in a better manner for development of the country.