NEW DELHI: Development doesn't seem to be on the priority list of the newly elected AAP government caught in controversies. In its first month in office,
neither has the party sanctioned any new development projects nor any funds to the MLAs to carry out work in their constituencies.
With central government likely to announce general elections in April, MLAs say they will not be able to get any work done as the model code of conduct is likely to come into force from mid-February. "The government needs to understand that development work can't be put on hold for so long. We are getting requests from people in our constituencies to get the basic work done, but we are unable to do anything. It takes at least a month to get a project sanctioned and if the fund is not released soon, then we will have to wait till May," said Mahinder Nagpal, BJP MLA from Wazirpur assembly constituency.
Every year,
an MLA gets Rs 4 crore for development of a constituency. But MLAs, including AAP, are clueless about thisMLALAD (MLA local area development) fund. While BJP MLAs are blaming AAP for deliberately stalling the development process, AAP MLAs are busy working as 'activists'. "I don't know about the MLALAD fund. I'm busy getting people's basic work done. There are a lot of problems and government officials don't listen to common people. I'm trying to put the basic system in place. Moreover, we have to first ensure that all the projects which were sanctioned earlier are executed properly," said Dharmender Koli,
AAP MLA from Seemapuri.
But senior BJP leader and leader of the opposition in Delhi assembly Harsh Vardhan claims that the government has stopped all the projects which were sanctioned earlier. "We had sanctioned several projects in the last term which were stuck at various stages of sanctioning,
but the government has put everything on hold. Development has taken a back seat. They (AAP) are just busy protesting and defending their ministers, and development doesn't seems to be on their list of priorities,'' said Harsh Vardhan.
With the general polls likely in April, MLAs claim they will not be able to get any work done till May if projects are not sanctioned in the next few weeks. The pressure is more on first-time MLAs as locals have high expectations from them. Also, with the future of the AAP-led government uncertain,
first-time MLAs have no time to perform. "People know us. But first-time MLAs have to prove themselves. They are not able to do anything. The government should focus on improving governance and empowering MLAs,'' added Vardhan.
Development not on AAP's agenda? - The Times of India