Abolishing MLALAD in Bihar: Right step in right direction

| Last updated less than one minute ago

Submit :

News Photos Just In Debate Topic Latest News Articles Local News Blog Posts Pictures Reviews Recipes

MADHU AGRAWAL

14 December, 2010

The step taken by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is in the right direction keeping in view the corruption and nepotism prevailing in our political and administrative system.

BIHAR CHIEF Minister Nitish Kumar should be complimented for his yet other reformative move to scrap corruption-generating MLA Local Area Development (MLALAD) Scheme. Rather Union government should follow this step and scrap similar schemes for parliamentarians as even the Planning Commission has observed that such a scheme is a fountain of corruption. This scheme was also exposed in TV-sting operation and the then Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee had also called for scrapping this scheme.

Many MPs and MLAs are over-generous to fund their favourite organisations for their projects from these schemes even though such funding may have nothing to do with public-welfare. It may be recalled that trusts floated by Election Commissioner Navin Chawla were found to be generously funded by MPLAD allocation of parliamentarians from ruling party.

Our parliamentarians and MLAs must have the capability to get work done for public-welfare from existing administrative-machinery including wisely using Right To Information Act rather than needing short-cut by way of corruption-generating scheme!

The step taken by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is in the right direction keeping in view the corruption and nepotism prevailing in our political and administrative system. The funding system devised for the MLAs and MPs might have its own merits but since it was proving to be a liability for the state, it was removed by the Bihar CM. It is likely that his lead might be taken by other state governments soon.