NEW DELHI: Close on the heels of the parliamentary committee led by Union Home Minister Amit Shah recommending Hindi as a medium of instruction in technical and non-technical institutions, the government appears to be pushing for the same in other areas too. Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas has alleged this in a letter written to Union Minister of State for Statistics and Program Implementation, Planning, and Corporate Affairs, Rao Inderjit Singh.
The new draft guidelines issued for the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) said that a plaque should be permanently erected at the site of new projects and the details should be inscribed in the ‘Hindi language too. It was the first time that such conditions were included in the revised guideline, which was released on October 25. Brittas, also said that the enforced directive to give details in Hindi in non-Hindi-speaking states can only be considered an infringement of federal principles.
Brittas said in the letter said that the selection of languages may be left to the wisdom of the Parliamentarians. “Para 3.23 of the new draft guidelines surreptitiously tries to introduce a new stipulation of erecting a plaque at MPLADS project sites inscribing the details of work in the Hindi language as well. No such condition was there in the existing guidelines,” said Brittas. The details to be given in the plaques in Hindi include ‘the cost of the project, the commencement, completion, and inauguration dates, and the name of the MP concerned.
Flagging a host of issues in the revised draft guidelines, the CPI(M) leader from Kerala said that there is an attempt to curtail the right of the MPS to utilise their funds. He points out that according to the new draft guidelines, the funds for projects will be with the Central Nodal Agency (CNA) account instead of the district authority of the nodal district of the concerned MP.
Brittas also pointed out that new guidelines changed the limit of funds an MP can recommend in a financial year for the works involving trusts and cooperative societies from Rs 1 crore to Rs 50 lakh. The disbursement of fresh funds, according to new guidelines, will be based on the utilisation certificates. Currently, funds are disbursed based on covering at least 80 per cent of the expenditure of the previous funds, which is Rs 2.50 crores..He also demanded that the government should obtain concurrence from the stakeholders, including the Rajya Sabha chairman, Lok Sabha Speaker, among others.