PUNE: A day after Sakal Times reported that 290 works undertaken using Member of Parliament Local Area Development (MPLAD) funds, are incomplete even after 2 to 3 years of initiation, the MPs concerned blamed the district administration for the delays.
The Principal Accountant General Audit, Pune zonal office, in the audit report stated that 991 works were sanctioned during 2014-15 till date in the four Lok Sabha constituencies of Pune, out of which 290 are yet be completed.
Even after the lapse of 2 to 3 years, the works are incomplete resulting in blocking of funds and depriving people of benefits for which the asset is proposed to be created.
The district collector/ district magistrate is generally the district authority to implement the MPLAD scheme. Each work has to be completed within one year.
Maval MP Shrirang Barne said, “Funds have been allocated to us by the government, but it’s the responsibility of the collector to complete the work in given time period. The Development Planning Officer working under the District Collector is the officer responsible to take note of which work is completed and which is pending. We are not to be blamed for any incomplete work.”
Pune city MP Anil Shirole blamed the collector. “For the incomplete development work, the Collector himself has to be blamed, because he is responsible to make sure that the development works are done in time-bound and complete manner. He should be more proactive. We just make files of it and forward those to the Collector and then it’s the Collector’s responsibility to appoint a contractor and complete the development work,” he said.
Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil, MP from Shirur constituency, added, “There is false representation on government websites about the incomplete development work. In fact there have been delays by the government itself, as I have myself sent files to the collector, but they have not paid any attention. The procedure is that once the funds are allocated, we make files of the development work of our constituency, then the files are sent to Public Works Department, then to the Revenue Department for e-tendering and then to the Collector. These files are not taken for work consideration until they are signed by the Collector, and the collector takes time to sign these files. And then they blame us, when we have already completed our job and later we have no role to play in it.”
Baramati MP Supriya Sule could not be reached for her comments on the issue. Pune District Collector Naval Kishore Ram, who took charge of the district early this year, told Sakal Times that his office is taking regular reviews regarding the works and he has instructed all departments concerned to complete them within two months.
