Maharashtra Lok Sabha MPs Spend Only 13% of MPLADS Funds, Well Below National Average
Maharashtra's 48 Lok Sabha MPs have utilized just 13.37 percent of their allocated Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) funds over the past two financial years and the first quarter of the current fiscal year. This low spending rate has raised concerns about local development across constituencies, ranging from Mumbai North Central to Kalyan, with the state ranking 28th out of 36 states and union territories in fund utilization.
According to official data, the state's MPs spent only ₹97.69 crore of the ₹730.5 crore allocated to them. This stands in stark contrast to the national average, where the country's 543 Lok Sabha MPs utilized 26.6 percent of their funds, spending ₹2,199.5 crore out of ₹8,265.4 crore.
The performance has sparked political debate, particularly concerning six Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs who recently defected to the faction led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. While these MPs cited a lack of development funding as a reason for switching sides, data shows they had utilized only between 1 percent and 26 percent of their own MPLADS funds.
Among individual lawmakers, Varsha Gaikwad of the Congress, representing Mumbai North Central, emerged as the top-performing MP in the state. Gaikwad utilized 56.9 percent of her funds, spending ₹8.4 crore of her ₹14.7 crore allocation. She emphasized that MPLADS funds belong to the citizens and should be used to improve their quality of life.
Other relatively high spenders included Congress MP Balwant Wankhede from Amravati and NCP MP Sunil Tatkare, who both recorded a 34 percent utilization rate. Shiv Sena MP Sandipan Bhumre from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar followed with 30 percent.
Conversely, several MPs recorded extremely low spending. Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde from Kalyan utilized none of his ₹14.7 crore allocation. Shinde disputed the official figures, claiming that the local administration had not updated the data and noting that over ₹1,000 crore in development works are currently active in his constituency.
Other low spenders include Shiv Sena MP Prataprao Jadhav from Buldhana at 0.8 percent (₹12.1 lakh), Sanjay Dina Patil at 1.1 percent (₹15.6 lakh), Congress MP Praniti Shinde from Solapur at 2.4 percent (₹35 lakh), and Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Anil Desai from Mumbai South Central at 4 percent (₹59 lakh). Prominent leaders like NCP (SP) working president Supriya Sule spent only 6.9 percent of her allocation.
Neeraj Hatekar, former head of the economics department at Mumbai University, expressed disappointment over the low utilization rates. He noted that while the annual ₹5 crore fund is small compared to major projects, MPs should prioritize spending on small but vital local sectors like education.
