In Brief
A scheme in Uttar Pradesh (Vidhayak Nidhi) grants annual budgetary funds to elected state legislators to recommend development work in their constituencies. The Supreme Court upheld the scheme as constitutionally valid and not conflicting with local self-governance laws (Parts IX and IXA of the Constitution). However, the Court found critical deficiencies compared to the earlier-upheld MPLADS scheme for Members of Parliament. The Court directed the state to revise the scheme's guidelines within two months to incorporate safeguards: limiting legislators' role to recommendation only, requiring independent feasibility assessment and implementing-agency selection by state authorities, preferring local self-governance institutions as implementers, preventing conflicts of interest, and ensuring financial transparency and audit procedures.
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