Tamil Nadu has amended the guidelines of its Member of Legislative Assembly Constituency Development Scheme (MLACDS) to allow legislators to use constituency funds to purchase equipment and furniture for Anganwadi centres.
The change applies to the guidelines issued for the 2026–27 to 2030–31 period. Before the amendment, the permissible list under the equipment and furniture category covered government schools, industrial training institutes, colleges and hostels, but did not include Anganwadi centres.
The amendment followed a proposal from the Commissioner of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj. An order issued by Dharmendra Pratap Yadav, Principal Secretary to the Government in the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department, formally added “and Anganwadi Centers” to the list of permitted works.
Anganwadi centres are part of the state’s public delivery network for early childhood care, nutrition and related services. The amendment allows MLACDS allocations to be used for physical equipment and furniture at these centres, bringing them within the same permissible spending category as several public education institutions.
The change is linked to the operation of MLACDS across Tamil Nadu’s Assembly constituencies. The state government had released Rs 828.36 crore for implementing the scheme across all constituencies during the 2026–27 financial year. The allocation works out to Rs 3.54 crore per constituency.
The order does not specify the equipment or furniture that individual constituencies will purchase, nor does the report provide a district-wise allocation or implementation schedule. It establishes the eligibility of Anganwadi centres for this category of MLACDS spending, while the selection and execution of works will depend on proposals and approvals under the scheme.
