Cutting across party lines, members on Thursday demanded in the State Assembly enhancement of the MLA Local Area Development (LAD) fund.
The MLA LAD fund is Rs 3 crore, of which Rs 2 crore is provided for overall development while Rs 50 lakh is utilised for road construction and the remaining Rs 50 lakh for education-related infra development.
Participating in the discussion, BJD MLA Sanjib Kumar Mallick said development and renovation works of big temples in the State are being carried out, but the MLA LAD fund is falling short for development of small temples in rural areas.
The general expenditure should be hiked to Rs 3 crore from the current Rs 2 crore, he said.
Opposition Chief Whip Mohan Charan Majhi (BJP) said that as the MLA LAD fund is Rs 5 crore in the neighbouring States, it should be hiked to Rs 10 crore in Odisha. He further demanded funds to Saraswati Sishu Vidya Mandirs from the MLA LAD fund.
Congress MLA Santosh Singh Saluja said the general expenditure should be hiked to Rs 3 crore.
In his reply, Planning and Convergence Minister Rajendra Dholakia said that currently, there is no proposal to enhance the MLA LAD fund and it would be taken into consideration at the right time.
The fund was increased threefold to Rs 3 crore from the previous Rs 1 crore in 2020-21. Currently, MLA LAD fund is Rs 5 crore in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana and Rs 4 crore in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. It is Rs 2 crore in Andhra Pradesh and only Rs 60 lakh in West Bengal, the Minister added.
Speaker Bikram Keshari Arukha directed the Minister to hold discussions with the concerned officials on how to implement the proposals given by the MLAs and inform the House.