Supreme Court dismisses plea against Centre for suspending MPLADS in April 2020 over Covid-19 pandemic

The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition against the Centre suspending the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Funds Scheme in April last year for use in funds for the crisis during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Special Leave Petition was filed by practising lawyer Neelima Vartak, against the order of the Bombay High Court.

A bench presided by Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana, Justice Surya Kant and Justice Hima Kohli asked, “If the MPs themselves are not aggrieved with the suspension and this country doesn’t have any grievance, what is your problem? Why are you challenging this? The High Court has rightly dismissed the petition.” 

The petitioner had filed a Writ Petition in the Bombay High Court, challenging the circular issued by the Joint Secretary (MPLADS) to the Government of India, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. By the circular, further release of instalments of MPLAD Scheme was suspended for two years, during FY 2020-21 and FY 2021-22, bearing in mind the challenges faced by the entire nation due to the pandemic caused by Covid-19 and its adverse impact on the society, requiring pooling of all available physical, financial, medical, technological and other resources.

The Circular was based on the requests received from the Members of Parliament for including facilities for medical testing and screening under the MPLAD Scheme, in order to bolster the ongoing fight against the pandemic caused by Covid-19. In such context, the Ministry decided that the District Authority may utilise the MPLAD Scheme funds for medical testing, screening and other facilities required to detect and contain Covid-19 and that it had been decided to grant one-time dispensation under the MPLAD Scheme for purchase/installation of the items mentioned therein by relaxing the guidelines in the manner suggested and following the procedure detailed therein.

The petitioner submitted that the necessary fallout is that the MPLAD Scheme funds would be utilised to combat the pandemic arising out of Covid-19 and not exactly for the purposes the same are intended and by the way of writ petition in Bombay High Court, the petitioner sought directions to the Government of India to resume the MPLAD Scheme, so that the funds could be used for the purposes intended, which may include protection of citizens from the adverse effect of the pandemic, as well as funding programmes and projects to contain the spread of the virus.

The High Court, while expressing their view, submitted, “The decision of the concerned ministry to suspend the MPLAD Scheme would adversely affect the MPs because such suspension obviously entails suspension of developmental works in their respective constituency. Any MP could have approached the Court, if he/she were aggrieved by the suspension of the MPLAD Scheme… It is only the petitioner who has come forward to question the suspension, for reasons best known to her. Had the petitioner espoused a cause of genuine public interest, the Court would not have sat back and declined interference.”

Under the MP Local Area Development scheme, the MPs can recommend development programmes involving spending of Rs five crore every year in their constituencies.

The Bombay High Court, while dismissing Vartak’s plea in December last year, had said, “In the current unprecedented situation, when the Union and the state governments were trying their best to secure adequate healthcare for people, any opposition to such efforts must be “nipped in the bud”.”