Gujarat MPs fail to spend 95.8% of MPLAD funds; no work completed in half the constituencies

By A Representative 

Gujarat’s Members of Parliament (MPs) have come under scrutiny for failing to effectively utilize funds allocated to them under the Members of Parliament Local Area Development (MPLAD) Scheme. Data sourced from the official MPLAD portal shows that only 4.2% of the total budget sanctioned for the state has been spent in the past year, with not a single project completed in 14 out of the 26 parliamentary constituencies.

As per the MPLAD 2023 guidelines, each MP is allotted Rs. 5 crore annually to carry out public welfare and infrastructure-related works in their constituency, including in areas such as health, education, sanitation, roads, irrigation, agriculture, and energy. Since the 18th Lok Sabha was constituted in June 2024, Gujarat’s MPs have been collectively allocated Rs. 254.8 crore. However, as of July 5, 2025, only Rs. 10.72 crore has been spent.

Among all constituencies, Bharuch reported the highest expenditure at Rs. 1.73 crore, followed by Patan with Rs. 1.56 crore and Sabarkantha with Rs. 1.08 crore. On the other end of the spectrum, not a single rupee was spent in six constituencies: Ahmedabad East, Ahmedabad West, Banaskantha, Chhota Udepur, Gandhinagar, and Navsari.

In terms of recommended works, Navsari tops the list with 297 proposals, followed by Mehsana with 271, and Kheda with 265. Despite these recommendations, out of a total of 3,823 works proposed across the state, only 93 have been completed, reflecting severe delays or systemic bottlenecks. Alarmingly, no work has been completed in Ahmedabad East, Ahmedabad West, Banaskantha, Chhota Udepur, Dahod, Gandhinagar, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Kheda, Kachchh, Navsari, Panchmahal, Surendranagar, and Valsad—more than half of the constituencies in the state.

According to the MPLAD guidelines, approval for projects recommended by MPs should be completed within 45 days. However, the implementation appears to be stalled or delayed in many places. In addition to the poor expenditure record, there is a lack of transparency in how the MPLAD funds are being utilized. The revamped portal www.mplads.sbi only displays basic data on budget allocation, expenditure, and number of works. It omits crucial information such as technical approval status, rejected works, and progress reports—data that was available on the earlier version of the portal.

The absence of detailed and disaggregated information violates Section 4(1)(b) of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, which mandates proactive disclosure. With growing public demand for accountability and efficient use of public resources, the state’s MPs are likely to face mounting pressure to explain the significant underutilization of funds and lack of progress on ground.