India, June 25 -- Maharashtra's 48 MPs have spent just over 13% of the funds allocated to them under the central government's Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS), barely half the national average of 26.6%, according to data from the scheme's official portal.

The state ranks 28th among 36 states and union territories in fund utilisation under the scheme, which provides each MP Rs.5 crore annually for local development works. Only Puducherry, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Chandigarh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Ladakh, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli rank below Maharashtra.

The matter has sparked debate after HT reported on Wednesday that the six Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs who recently defected to the Shiv Sena led by deputy ch...