HYDERABAD: Learning of the ongoing misuse of the MLA/MLC’s constituency development programme (CDP) funds, the State government has issued orders to all district collectors to plug loopholes and stop allotment of works on nomination basis.
MLAs and MLCs are provided `3 crore per annum towards the CDP. As per rules, funds are released to the district collector and kept with CPO of the district. The MLA and MLC can suggest works and once the district collector approves them, the money is released to engineers.
However, in practice, things work a little differently. M Padmanabha Reddy, secretary, Forum for Good Governance, explains: “For instance, an MLA/MLC suggests works such as BT roads or construction of culverts. The estimates often run into `20 or `30 lakh. Instead of calling for tenders, the work is then divided into bits of `4.99 lakh (less than `5 lakh) and allotted on nomination basis to contractors suggested by the MLA/MLC.”
The FGG collected information of works taken up in all districts across the State using CDP funds between 2014 and 2018 through Right To Information (RTI) petitions.
The government seems to have had enough of this. Principal Secretary to the Government, Planning (FAC) K Ramakrishna Rao, in a memo dated July 26, 2019, directed all district collectors to ensure such practices are prevented. “In this regard, they are further requested to issue necessary instructions to all the executing agencies to examine the entire work, keeping in view the ground reality, and not split the entire work into bits/pieces, if the work is worth more than `5 lakh.”