Bhubaneswar, Aug 13: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Majhi on Wednesday unveiled the simplified guidelines for the MLA Local Area Development (MLA-LAD) fund and Chief Minister’s Special Assistance (CM-SAA) schemes at Lok Seva Bhavan in Bhubaneswar.
Along with the new guidelines, CM Majhi also launched the official MLA-LAD web portal (https://mlalads.odisha.gov.in)
The launch took place in the presence of Cabinet Ministers just before the start of the state Cabinet meeting.
The updated guidelines are aimed at streamlining the process, ensuring transparency, and making it easier for legislators to implement essential local development projects in their constituencies.
Under the guidance of CM Majhi, the guidelines for the MLA-LAD scheme have been simplified.
Speaking on this occasion, CM Majhi said that the revised guidelines are transparent, simple, and time-efficient.
He said that the new guidelines will simplify administrative procedures and help deliver essential and small-scale basic infrastructure to the public more quickly and transparently.
These new guidelines focus on various sectors and ensure that only essential projects are approved, while unnecessary ones are excluded. Additionally, the time frame from project recommendation to final approval (including work order issuance) has been set at 30 days, he added.
The Chief Minister stated that the CM-SA guidelines have also been simplified, adding that this will help implement projects more quickly and effectively.
Through the new MLA LAD web portal, MLAs will be able to carry out tasks such as project recommendations, translating project needs, preparing plans and cost estimates, project approvals, issuing work orders, monitoring, inspection, expenditure tracking, and completion— all within a defined timeline, he said.
Using this portal, MLAs can stay updated on the real-time status of all projects they have recommended in their constituencies. Detailed information related to these projects will also be available to the public on the portal. Additionally, residents of the respective Assembly constituencies will be able to access information about the projects recommended by their MLAs through this platform, he added.
It is worth noting that the MLA-LAD Scheme, launched in 1997–98, has served as a strong tool for creating small but essential infrastructure for the public. Over time, the grant amount for each Assembly constituency has increased from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 3 crore. For the financial year 2025–26, an allocation of Rs 5 crore has been made for each constituency under the scheme.
The new guidelines have been prepared under the direct supervision of the Chief Secretary and the Development Commissioner. Inputs were taken from members of the Assembly Committee and respected MLAs. Additionally, guidelines from neighbouring states were studied, and detailed discussions were held on the issues arising at the grassroots level.
