The rest of India lags behind, but UP's MPs take the lead in utilising funds

Uttar Pradesh, the country's most populous state, may lag behind other states on the development front. But UP has taken the lead in ''utilising'' the local area development funds allocated to members of Parliament.

According to the latest report of the department of programme implementation, Uttar Pradesh utilised 80.5 per cent of the funds between 1993-94 and 1995-96. It was second only to Punjab, where the figure touched 84 per cent in the case of Lok Sabha members. As for the Rajya Sabha members, they appeared relatively slower, having utilised only 65 per cent over the same period.

The report also makes the shocking revelation that more than half of the 31 states and Union territories could not utilise more than 55 per cent of the funds. Only seven states including Bihar and Madhya Pradesh could utilise more than 70 per cent of the funds allocated for the Lok Sabha members.

Interestingly, none of the progressive states (barring Punjab) have been able to utilise the funds so well. Thus, Tamil Nadu stands at 67 per cent, Maharashtra 62 per cent and Karnataka 64 per cent.

Launched in December 1993, the scheme earmarks Rs 10 million for each member of Parliament annually. However, only a token amount of Rs 500,000 was released for each of the MPs during the remaining part of the financial year 1993-94.

In the following financial year, each of the MPs received Rs 10 million through district collectors, enabling the people's representatives to undertake development work in their constituency.

What seems strange is that UP, which lags behind other states in both agriculture as well as industrial development, has excelled in utilising these funds.

''Well, it is no big puzzle,'' claims a senior bureaucrat. ''I must confess that my fellow bureaucrats are hand in glove with the people's representatives in deceiving the people. In the years to come, this will also emerge as a major scam, provided someone musters up courage to speak up against his own colleagues in Parliament.''

The Centre has already released Rs 1.15 billion (up to January 1997) for the current financial year. As more funds are in the pipeline, one need not be surprised if the ''utilisation'' goes up further.

But the performance report presents a rosy picture. ''The scheme has had a good impact on the development of some areas,'' it stated. ''Among the developmental works carried out are: construction of school buildings, toilets and crematoria, provision of drinking water and electricity in rural areas and laying of roads.''

EARLIER REPORT:

A saga of cruel neglect: India's MPs refuse to utilise the Rs 10 million meant for their constituencies