BJP: Withdrawal of MLA area development funds arbitrary

The ongoing winter session of the Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha witnessed heated exchanges between the Treasury and Opposition benches on Monday as BJP MLAs objected to the government’s decision to withdraw MLA Area Development and discretionary funds.

Raising the issue during the question hour, the Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur and BJP MLA Vipin Parmar called the move arbitrary and undemocratic, saying it amounted to curtailing the rights of elected representatives to carry out development works in their respective Assembly constituencies.

The BJP legislators alleged that several block offices of the Rural Development and Panchayat Department had withdrawn sanctioned funds without giving any prior intimation to the MLAs concerned.

They accused the department of withholding crucial information about the status of funds, the projects for which the money had originally been allocated and the authority under which the withdrawals were made.

The Opposition members insisted that depriving MLAs of funds meant depriving the public of essential development works. “The violation of democratic rights will not be tolerated,” the BJP MLAs said, demanding that the withdrawals be reversed immediately.

They claimed that many works, particularly in rural areas, had been stalled due to the sudden withdrawal of funds and accused the government of targeting constituencies represented by opposition MLAs.

Responding to the criticism, Rural Development and Panchayat Minister Anirudh Singh clarified that only those amounts that remained unspent till the end of 2023 had been withdrawn.

He said the government had acted strictly in accordance with financial norms and stressed that no ongoing or active project had been disrupted. The funds were withdrawn to prevent them from lapsing and to ensure that the money was reallocated efficiently, he stated.

Singh assured the House that the funds would be released again once fresh development proposals were submitted by the respective MLAs. Rejecting allegations of discrimination, he asserted that the government was committed to ensuring equitable development across all constituencies.

To address concerns over transparency, the minister announced that detailed letters would soon be sent to all MLAs. These letters will specify the total amount withdrawn from each constituency, the status of work, for which the funds were originally earmarked, and the reasons behind the non-completion of certain projects.