The Bombay High Court recently directed the Maharashtra government to not disburse amounts from the Maharashtra Local Development (MLD) funds to Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) for the financial year 2022-23 until further orders.
A division bench comprising Justice GS Kulkarni and Justice RN Laddha was hearing a petition by Ravindra Waikar, an MLA belonging to the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena, seeking for fair distribution of MLD funding to MLAs without discriminating on the basis of political parties.
Appearing for Waikar, Advocate Satish Borulkar informed the bench that on Febraury 17, when the petition was first heard, the government had asked for more time to gather information and prepare a response.
He argued that since the money is ultimately public money to be used for the good of the public, there must be a fair distribution.
The division bench asked additional government pleader Milind More to address these contentions raised.
The bench further directed the State to place on record through an affidavit as to what amounts have been distributed since February 17 and their distribution to elected representatives from various constituencies.
The government pleader informed the bench that the amounts for the financial year 2022-23 have already been distributed.
The bench took note of this statement but still directed the State to withhold distribution in case certain funds had not yet been paid out.
Each MLA and legislative council receives MLD funds for local area development through the District Planning Commission under a various heads including:
- urban development in slums
- reallocation of slum dwellers, their rehabilitation
- development of basic infrastructure in municipal corporations.
The MLA claimed in his appeal that the State had given the MLD funds a total allocation of Rs 45,102.42 lakh.
The list of amount allotted to MLAs, however, revealed that the Republican Party and the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena, as well as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), received significant funding for the constituencies they represent.
Waikar argued that his own constituency contained several slums in need of civic services. But, he and other party members were denied funds ffor their respective constituency.
The division bench granted time to the State Government to file its affidavit and scheduled the matter for next hearing on 5th April, 2023.
