Sonia, Rahul, Advani, Rajnath fail to spend even R 19 cr of MP fund; Sachin, Rekha spent nothing

New Delhi: The term of the 15th Lok Sabha is going to end on May 31, but well-known leaders like Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, Bjp chief Rajnath Singh and BJP patriarch LK Advani have spent much less than their quota of funds allocated under the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS). Records available with the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation suggest that Sonia, Rahul, Advani and Rajnath have not collectively spent Rs. 18.95 crores. While Sonia, who represents Uttar Pradesh's Rae Bareli constituency in Lok Sabha, has emerged as the best performer by spending over 79% of the sanctioned fund under the MPLADS, Advani has secured second position with the utilization of 77.57% of the total fund allocated to him. Rajnath Singh follows Advani with 76.01% utilization. Advani represents Gujarat's Gandhinagar while Singh represents Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh. Rahul Gandhi, the number 2 in Congress and party’s unannounced prime ministerial candidate, is the poorest performer of the four. Gandhi who is the MP from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh has utilized only 69.80% of the MP fund at his disposal. According to the data, Sonia Gandhi has Rs. 4.12 crore as unspent amount, Rahul Gandhi has Rs. 5.55 crore to spend while Rajnath Singh has Rs. 4.98 crore and LK Advani Rs. 4.30 crore. Ironically, former cricket Sachin Tendulkar and Bollywood actress Rekha, who were nominated to Rajya Sabha around two years ago, have spent "zero" rupee on development in their respective adopted areas. Notably, Rajya Sabha MPs get to adopt a district of their choice for development. Each member of the Upper House is entitled to Rs. 5 crore a year from their MPLAD fund. Sachin Tendulkar adopted district is Mumbai suburban, but Rekha has not bothered to even adopt a district. Given that the 15th Lok Sabha is in the last year of its term, MPs should have spent about 75% of their total quota, which was Rs. 2 crore per year during the first two years of this Lok Sabha. This was raised to Rs. 5 crore per year in 2011. Thus, MPs could recommend Rs. 19 crore (Rs 2 crore x 2 + Rs. 5 crore x 3) worth of development work during the term of the current Lok Sabha. During every financial year, each MP has to recommend development works up to the annual entitlement to the concerned district authority. The district authority then sanctions and executes the eligible projects. Utilization Chart of MPLAD fund for the 15th Lok Sabha Sonia Gandhi (Rae Bareli) Entitlement of Constituency: Rs. 19 crore Amount recommended: Rs. 16.54 crore Amount sanctioned: Rs. 15.41 crore Released by the government: Rs. 16.56 crore Expenditure incurred: Rs. 13.09 crore Percent of utilisation over released: 79.03% Amount available with interest: Rs. 17.21 crore Unspent balance: Rs. 4.12 crore Rahul Gandhi (Amethi) Entitlement of Constituency: Rs. 19 crore Amount recommended: Rs. 19.88 crore Amount sanctioned: Rs. 14.09 crore Released by the government: Rs. 16.56 crore Expenditure incurred: Rs. 11.56 crore Percent of utilisation over released: 69.80% Amount available with interest: Rs. 17.11 crore Unspent balance: Rs. 5.55 crore Rajnath Singh (Ghaziabad) Entitlement of Constituency: Rs. 19 crore Amount recommended: Rs. 19.29 crore Amount sanctioned: Rs. 16.91 crore Released by the government: Rs. 19.06 crore Expenditure incurred: Rs. 14.49 crore Percent of utilisation over released: 76.01% Amount available with interest: Rs. 19.47 crore Unspent balance: Rs. 4.98 crore LK Advani (Gandhinagar) Entitlement of Constituency: Rs. 19 crore Amount recommended: Rs. 17.53 crore Amount sanctioned: Rs. 13.22 crore Released by the government: Rs. 14.08 crore Expenditure incurred: Rs. 10.92 crore Percent of utilisation over released: 77.57% Amount available with interest: Rs. 15.22 crore Unspent balance: Rs. 4.30 crore (Source: Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation)