NEW DELHI: Ahead of the assembly election, the Delhi government on Thursday raised the annual MLA Local Area Development (LAD) fund by 50 per cent hiking the current amount from Rs 10 crore to Rs 15 crore.
Addressing a press conference, Chief Minister Atishi claimed that the MLA-LAD in Delhi was the highest in the country. “The Delhi Cabinet has made a significant decision by increasing the MLA Fund from Rs 10 crores per year to Rs 15 crores per year. No other state in the country provides such a large MLA Fund as Delhi which is three times more than other states,” she said.
Highlighting comparisons with other states, the CM noted that Gujarat allocates Rs 1.5 crores per constituency, while states like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka provide Rs 2 crores. “Even larger states such as Maharashtra, Kerala, and Rajasthan allocate only Rs 5 crores, making Delhi’s Rs 15 crores the most significant in the country,” she said.
Urban Development Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj elaborated on the rationale behind the increase, particularly in light of the damage caused by this year’s heavy rains.
“This year Delhi has experienced a lot of rain, which has caused damage to the roads, parks, walkways, and walls. Due to the increased rain, there are also issues with sewers in many places—they have become clogged or silted up, and new sewer lines have been laid. MLAs have been regularly bringing these issues to our attention, and the increased MLA Fund will enable them to quickly provide relief without waiting for long departmental sanctions,” he stated.
Bharadwaj said the main reason for increasing the fund was to ensure that projects that were getting delayed due to departmental sanctions can now get started so that the people can get immediate relief.
Bharadwaj elaborated on the rationale behind the increase, particularly in light of the damage caused by this year’s heavy rains.
“This year, Delhi has experienced a lot of rain, which has caused damage to roads, parks, walkways, and walls. Due to the increased rain, there are also issues with sewers in many places as they are clogged or full of silt, and new sewer lines have been laid.
“MLAs have been regularly bringing these issues to our attention, and the increased MLA Fund will enable them to quickly provide relief without waiting for long departmental sanctions,” Bharadwaj said.
He emphasised the flexibility of the MLA fund allows representatives to address local concerns promptly, ensuring faster and more efficient responses to infrastructure and development needs across the city.