By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 12 Feb: A query under RTI has revealed very low utilisation of Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme funds (MPLADS) by the current Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Members of Parliament from Uttarakhand. As per the response given by the Rural Development Commissioner’s office, which is the nodal agency of MPLADS funds and MLALADS funds, as of December 2025, the state’s eight MPs have spent only around 18 per cent of their total allocated MPLADS funds, including expenditure on both completed and ongoing works.
However, the data reveals that in addition to the MPs who need to accept blame for the low utilisation of the funds under them for their respective constituency, administrative hurdles are also a major reason behind the low utilisation. In all, 232 works proposed by MPs have reportedly not been sanctioned by officials so far and along with this, a total of 87 sanctioned projects have not even begun by the end of 2025.
Comprehensive details regarding the allocation and expenditure of MPLADS funds from the Rural Development Commissioner’s office had been sought by an RTI activist in this regard. In response, Deputy Commissioner (Administration) and Public Information Officer (PIO) Hemanti Gunjyal has provided an expenditure statement updated until December 2025. As per the response given, a total amount of Rs 95.90 crores has been allocated to all the eight MPs from the state including 5 Lok Sabha MPs and 3 Rajya Sabha MPs up to December 2025. Of this amount, Rs 49 crores had been earmarked for the five Lok Sabha MPs for the financial years 2024–25 and 2025–26, while Rs 46.90 crores was allocated to the three Rajya Sabha MPs from the commencement of their respective terms until December 2025. However, during their current tenures, a total amount of only Rs 7.08 crores has been spent on the completed works, while a total amount of Rs 10.65 crores has been spent on ongoing works, bringing the overall utilisation to just around 18 percent of the total allocation.
A comparative analysis reveals a marked disparity in expenditure between the two Houses of Parliament. The five Lok Sabha MPs collectively spent only Rs 2.089 crores on completed works and Rs 1.191 crores on works in progress, which works out to a mere 7 percent of their allocated funds. In contrast, the three Rajya Sabha MPs recorded expenditure of Rs 4.99 crore on completed works and Rs 9.46 crore on ongoing projects, resulting in a comparatively higher utilisation rate of 31 per cent.
Among the Lok Sabha representatives, Ajay Bhatt, MP from Nainital–Udham Singh Nagar, has recorded the highest utilisation at 18 per cent of his allocated funds. Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah, Member of Parliament from Tehri Garhwal, follows with 14 per cent expenditure. The remaining three Lok Sabha MPs have recorded negligible utilisation. The expenditure of Anil Baluni, MP from Pauri-Garhwal, is interestingly recorded as zero. Ajay Tamta, MP from Almora and a Union Minister of State, and Trivendra Singh Rawat, MP from Haridwar, have each utilised less than one per cent of their respective allocations as of December 2025.
Among the Rajya Sabha MPs, Naresh Bansal has emerged as the most active with regard to the fund utilisation, having spent 47 per cent of his allocation. Kalpana Saini follows with 27 per cent utilisation, while Mahendra Bhatt has recorded expenditure of only 6 per cent of his allocated funds by December 2025.
Project-wise data further indicates the status of works proposed by individual MPs. Ajay Bhatt has proposed a total of 316 works during his current tenure, of which 229 have received official sanction. However, so far, only 54 projects have been completed as on December, 2025 while 154 are in progress and the remaining 21 have not even begun by December 2025. Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah has proposed 128 works, of which 89 were sanctioned. But only 11 works have been completed as on December, 2025 while 64 works are in progress and 14 had not even begun by the end of the December. Interestingly, Anil Baluni has so far proposed only four works, two of which were sanctioned. Of them, one stands completed and the other is ongoing.
Ajay Tamta had four works sanctioned. Two of these had not begun by December 2025, while the remaining two are in progress, resulting in an expenditure of only Rs 0.041 crore, which is less than one per cent of his total allocation. Similarly, Trivendra Singh Rawat had proposed a total of 16 works, of which 10 were sanctioned. Of these, only one project has been completed, five are underway and four had not even begun. The total expenditure in his case as on December has been of Rs 0.080 crore, which amounts to less than one per cent utilisation.
Among the Rajya Sabha members, Naresh Bansal proposed a total of 191 works, 144 of which were sanctioned. As of December 2025, 23 projects have been completed, 92 are ongoing and 29 had not begun. Kalpana Saini had proposed 121 works. 89 were sanctioned while 26 have been completed, 60 are in progress and three are yet to begin. Mahendra Bhatt has proposed a total of 44 works, of which 23 received sanction. However, only two projects have been completed, seven are underway and 14 had not begun by the December 2025 deadline.
The data reveals not only the activeness of the MPs but also raises concerns over delays in sanctioning and implementation of development works under MPLADS, thereby bringing into focus questions of administrative efficiency and monitoring mechanisms in the State.
