Two years into office, the majority of Andhra Pradesh Members of Parliament failed to utilize the allotted Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) funds. YSRCP MP Meda Raghunadha Reddy is at the top in the utilization of funds with 55.37%, while TDP MP Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu is at the bottom with 1.38%.
The Centre allots Rs 5 cr every year to each MP under MPLADS. According to the data published by Empowered Indian, the national average for utilization of funds is 75%, while Andhra ranks 26th among 28 states in the country with an average utilization of 23%. Overall, AP’s 37 Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs combined had Rs 554.5 crore in funds, of which only 23.03 percent has been utilized.
Union Ministers under scrutiny
The MPLADS spending of AP’s three union ministers has also sparked political debate. Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma has spent only Rs 14.7 crore of his constituency’s total allocation. Pemmasani Chandrasekhar has spent Rs 3.6 crore of his available funds. Another union minister, Ram Mohan Naidu, spent only Rs 5.4 crore out of Rs 17.1 crore available in his quota.
A missed opportunity for Andhra Pradesh
TDP leader Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu’s case is also under discussion; figures show only Rs 24 lakh spent out of Rs 17.4 crore allocated to him, a strikingly low figure. The figures are noteworthy because MPs belonging to the ruling TDP, including Union Ministers, would be expected to have greater administrative access and political influence to push development works through the system.
MPLADS funds are intended to support locally identified development needs—from basic infrastructure and community facilities to other eligible public works. When a substantial portion of these funds remains unused, it represents a missed opportunity for constituencies that could otherwise benefit from additional public investment.
