Mumbai: Maharashtra’s 48 MPs have spent just over 13% of the funds allocated to them under the central government’s Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS), barely half the national average of 26.6%, according to data from the scheme’s official portal.

The state ranks 28th among 36 states and union territories in fund utilisation under the scheme, which provides each MP ₹5 crore annually for local development works. Only Puducherry, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Chandigarh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Ladakh, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli rank below Maharashtra.

The matter has sparked debate after HT reported on Wednesday that the six Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs who recently defected to the Shiv Sena led by deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde had utilised just 1%-26% of their available MPLADS funds, despite citing a lack of development funding as one of the reasons for switching sides.

However, the data shows it’s not just these six MPs who appear to have underutilised their allocated funds under the scheme.

All 48 Lok Sabha MPs from Maharashtra have been allocated ₹730.5 crore over the past two financial years and the first quarter of the current fiscal. Of this, only ₹97.69 crore has been spent, equating to 13.37% utilisation. On a national level, the 543 Lok Sabha MPs have utilised ₹2,199.5 crore of the ₹8,265.4 crore allocated to them, resulting in a utilisation rate of 26.6%.

Cong’s Gaikwad on top

Contrary to popular perception that MPs from the ruling alliance can deliver better at getting development work done than opposition lawmakers, the top-performing MP from Maharashtra in terms of utilising MPLADS funds is Varsha Gaikwad of the Congress, who represents the Mumbai North Central constituency. She has spent ₹8.4 crore of the ₹14.7 crore allocated to her, translating into a utilisation rate of 56.9%.

Congress MP Balwant Wankhede from Amravati and NCP MP Sunil Tatkare jointly occupied second place with utilisation rates of 34%, followed by Shiv Sena MP Sandipan Bhumre from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar at 30%.

Gaikwad said that every single rupee in MPLADS belongs to the people and should be used for their benefit through various works. “A lot of requests do come to us from citizens in the constituency, and we evaluate them on a case-by-case basis. My intent is that the quality of life of the residents of my constituency must be improved. This is people’s money; it should be used for people’s benefit. That is the only criteria for me,” she said.

Among Mumbai’s six MPs, while Gaikwad topped the list, Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Waikar from Mumbai North West ranked second, having spent ₹3.9 crore or 26.7% of his allocation. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant from Mumbai South utilised 19.6% of his funds, while BJP MP Piyush Goyal spent 14.6%.

At the lower end of the table, Shiv Sena MP from Kalyan, Shrikant Shinde, has not utilised any of the ₹14.7 crore allocated to him. Shinde disputed the figures, saying the data may not have been updated by the administration.

“In my constituency, development works of over ₹1,000 crore are going on, and all of them are visible. The MPLADS fund of ₹5 crore is a small amount compared to the size of the Lok Sabha constituency. But still, at the local level, we recommend many works through it. The data needs to be updated by the administration, and I will look into it,” said Shinde.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Anil Desai from Mumbai South Central utilised just 4% of his allocation, spending ₹59 lakh. Sanjay Dina Patil, one of the six rebel Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs, spent only ₹15.6 lakh, or 1.1% of his funds. Union minister of state for health and Shiv Sena MP Prataprao Jadhav from Buldhana utilised just 0.8% of his allocation, spending ₹12.1 lakh. Congress MP Praniti Shinde from Solapur spent 2.4%, or ₹35 lakh.

Some prominent MPs also fell below the state average. NCP (SP) working president Supriya Sule utilised only ₹1 crore of her ₹14.7 crore allocation, or 6.9%, while union minister of state for civil aviation Murlidhar Mohol spent ₹1.2 crore.

Neeraj Hatekar, former head of the economics department at Mumbai University, said the low utilisation was disappointing. “The MP fund of ₹5 crore per year is a small amount for MPs in Maharashtra, as most of them deal with big projects and schemes. Irrespective of the ruling side or the opposition, the fund utilisation ratio is low, at half of the national average. Though MPs are interested in big-sized projects, they should also take an interest in spending funds in small but important works related to key sectors like education,” said Hatekar.

Nimbalkar granted ₹18 crore

Meanwhile, Dharashiv MP Omraje Nimbalkar, one of the six Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs who recently defected to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, has received approvals for development works worth ₹18 crore in his constituency.

The projects include ₹8 crore for the redevelopment of a weekly market, ₹5 crore for Rajmata Jijau Garden, ₹3 crore for Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Garden and ₹2 crore for Hinduhridaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Garden.

All the proposals were approved by the urban development department headed by deputy chief minister and Shiv Sena president Eknath Shinde. Nimbalkar thanked Shinde in a social media post for clearing the projects.

The other five defected MPs are also expected to submit proposals for development works in their constituencies.