NEW DELHI: Delhi Urban Development Minister Ashish Sood has revealed that a substantial portion of the MLA Local Area Development (MLA-LAD) funds during the 10-year tenure of the previous AAP government remained unclaimed.
Speaking exclusively in the 26th edition of the ‘Delhi Dialogues’ of this newspaper, the minister said that out of the total Rs 1,391 crore allocated under the MLA-LAD fund, only about Rs 561 crore — released in advance — was spent, while Rs 830 crore was never claimed by legislators.
Emphasising to conduct an audit after a proper review, the Minister said that it apparently shows that the entire work was finished by the advance money or that money went down the drain.
Notably, the AAP government in October 2024 approved a 50% hike in MLA-LAD fund, increasing the annual allocation to legislators from the earlier Rs 10 crore to Rs 15 crore. The then CM, Atishi, and her Cabinet claimed that Delhi has become the state (city) with the highest MLA-LAD fund allocation in the country. The BJP, however, had termed the move as “nothing but a deception”.
Nearly three months after assuming office, the Rekha Gupta-led government reduced the MLA-LAD fund by two-thirds — from Rs 15 crore to Rs 5 crore — in May this year. A BJP MLA said the government set aside Rs 350 crore for the MLA-LAD fund, dividing Rs 5 crore each among Delhi’s 70 legislators.
Sood, who also holds the Home, Education, and Power portfolios, said, “There are so many things we are discovering every day about the previous regime. While reviewing my Urban Development Department, it was found that only Rs 561 crore in advance money was utilised, while the rest remained unclaimed. The irony is that the AAP government kept boasting about increasing the MLA-LAD funds. This data has come from our department, and once we order scrutiny, they will accuse us of witch-hunting.”
He alleged that the AAP government thrived on tokenism while real work was missing.
“They spentRs 40 lakh on so-called medicines for stubble burning but Rs 40 crore on its advertisement. We cannot do such things — our leadership would never allow it. Our policies are pro-people, and we must work accordingly,” Sood added.