MPLADS suspended for two years; Prez, PM, MPs to take pay cut

The Union Cabinet has approved the suspension of Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) for two financial years — 2020-21 and 2021-22 — and utilise the amount to manage the COVID-19 outbreak in the country.

During a Cabinet briefing on Monday (April 6), Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar said an amount of ₹7,900 crore would go to the Consolidated Fund of India.

Cabinet approves temporary suspension of MPLAD Fund of MPs during 2020-21 & 2021-22 for managing health& adverse impact of outbreak of #COVID19 in India. The consolidated amount of MPLAD Funds for 2 years – Rs 7900 crores – will go to Consolidated Fund of India: Prakash Javadekar pic.twitter.com/Suy20pFLQi

— ANI (@ANI) April 6, 2020

He added that the President, the Vice President, Governors and Lieutenant Governors have decided to take a pay cut of 30 per cent to handle the impact of the pandemic.

Earlier, the Union Cabinet also approved an ordinance that amends the Members of Parliament Act, 1954, slashing the salaries, allowances and pensions of Union Ministers and Members of Parliament by 30 per cent for the next one year, with effect from April 1, 2020. This amount too will go to the Consolidated Fund of India, said Javadekar.

Only a few days ago, many MPs had agreed to allocate ₹1 crore each from their MPLADS funds to the PM CARES Fund that was set up recently to tackle COVID-19.