BHUBANESWAR: Members cutting across party lines on Thursday demanded in the Assembly that the MLA local area development (MLALAD) fund should be increased even as Minister for Planning and Coordination Rajendra Dholakia rejected it saying that there is no such proposal at present.
The issue cropped up in the house during discussion on a question raised by Sanjeeb Mallick (BJD). Stating that the present amount of Rs 3 crore was not enough for development work in a constituency, Mallick said now that the government has started renovation of major temples, people also want beautification of small temples at local level. However, the MLALAD fund is not sufficient for such work, he added.
At present, the LAD fund includes Rs 2 crore for general purposes, Rs 50,000 for higher education and Rs 50,000 for construction of roads and buildings. Mallick demanded the fund for general purposes to be raised to Rs 3 crore. He was supported by BJD MLA Latika Pradhan.
Opposition chief whip Mohan Majhi and BJP legislator Bhaskar Madhei also raised the issue. Majhi demanded that the MLALAD fund to be increased to Rs 10 crore. Like other states, which have hiked the fund to Rs 5 crore and above, Odisha should also increase the fund, he said.
Comparing the LAD fund in other states with Odisha, Congress member Santosh Singh Saluja demanded that the limit of the general fund should be hiked from Rs 2 crore to Rs 3 crore and be spent as per the recommendation of respective legislator.
However, the minister said there is no such proposal at present. MLALAD fund limit was increased from Rs 1 crore to Rs 3 crore in 2020-21. Speaker Bikram Keshari Arukha directed the minister to discuss with officials concerned about the proposal put up by several MLAs.
Ruckus in Assembly over ED notice to Sonia Gandhi
BHUBANESWAR: Noisy scenes were witnessed in the Assembly on Thursday over the summoning of Congress president Sonia Gandhi by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the National Herald money laundering case.
Raising the issue during zero hour, Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati alleged that the Narendra Modi government at the Centre has been deliberately harassing Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi on this case.
Leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) Narasingha Mishra alleged that the ED has summoned Sonia Gandhi to depose before it on Thursday even when the Parliament is in session, which is a breach of privilege.