The Union Territory of Delhi is witnessing a wave of changes following a power shift. Under the leadership of Rekha Gupta, the government has now significantly trimmed the Local Area Development (LAD) fund for legislators. The Delhi government has decreased the legislators' development fund from 150 million to 50 million rupees. This reduction in the fund has been officially announced by Delhi government officials.
The Urban Development Department of the Delhi government has issued an order related to the decrease in the LAD fund for legislators. As per the order released by the Urban Development Department, each assembly constituency's fund has been set at 50 million rupees annually following a cabinet meeting on May 2nd. The department stated that in compliance with Cabinet Decision number 3187, dated May 2, 2025, legislators will be allotted an annual fund of 50 million rupees for constituency development.
This decision by Rekha Gupta's cabinet to reduce the LAD fund will come into effect from the current financial year (2025-26). The order issued by the Urban Development Department clarifies that this is an untied fund. Legislators can utilize this fund for approved capital works as well as for the repair and maintenance of assets without any restrictions.
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According to the news agency PTI, a BJP legislator mentioned that the government has provisioned 3.5 billion rupees for the LAD fund, to be distributed among 70 legislators. Each legislator will receive 50 million rupees for area development. Notably, during the previous Aam Aadmi Party government, legislators received 40 million rupees under the LAD fund for fiscal years 2021-22 and 2022-23.
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In the fiscal year 2023-24, the government increased the LAD fund to 70 million rupees. It reached 100 million in 2024-25, and just last year, the Aam Aadmi Party's government, a few months before the Delhi Assembly elections, escalated it from 100 to 150 million rupees annually.
