Citing Yaas Impact Amid Covid, Congress Leader Seeks Release Of MP Funds

The government suspended the scheme last year in view of the impact of the pandemic.

Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury wrote to Speaker Om Birla today, seeking the release of MPLADS funds so that MPs can help people at a time when the Covid situation in West Bengal and Odisha is likely to worsen due to the impact of Cyclone Yaas. Under the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS), an MP can recommend development work worth Rs 5 crore annually in his/her constituency. The government suspended the scheme last year in view of the impact of the pandemic and diverted the sum to the Consolidated Fund of India. "While the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic has brought unimaginable miseries, the people of Odisha and West Bengal are on the verge of facing the devastating affects of the cyclonic storm, 'Yaas'," Mr Chowdhury wrote in his letter.