Mumbai, 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. 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 chief minister Eknath Shinde had utilised just 1%-26% of their available MPLADS funds, despite citing a lack of development funding as one of the reasons for switching sides. However, the data shows it's not just these six MPs who appear to have underutilised their allocated funds under the scheme. All 48 Lok Sabha MPs from Maharashtra have been allocated Rs.730.5 crore over the past two financial years and the first quarter of the current fiscal. Of this, only Rs.97.69 crore has been spent, equating to 13.37% utilisation. On a national level, the 543 Lok Sabha MPs have utilised Rs.2,199.5 crore of the Rs.8,265.4 crore allocated to them, resulting in a utilisation rate of 26.6%. Contrary to popular perception that MPs from the ruling alliance can deliver better at getting development work done than opposition lawmakers, the top-performing MP from Maharashtra in terms of utilising MPLADS funds is Varsha Gaikwad of the Congress, who represents the Mumbai North Central constituency. She has spent Rs.8.4 crore of the Rs.14.7 crore allocated to her, translating into a utilisation rate of 56.9%. Congress MP Balwant Wankhede from Amravati and NCP MP Sunil Tatkare jointly occupied second place with utilisation rates of 34%, followed by Shiv Sena MP Sandipan Bhumre from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar at 30%. Gaikwad said that every single rupee in MPLADS belongs to the people and should be used for their benefit through various works. "A lot of requests do come to us from citizens in the constituency, and we evaluate them on a case-by-case basis. My intent is that the quality of life of the residents of my constituency must be improved," she said. At the lower end of the table, Sanjay Dina Patil, one of the six rebel Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs, spent only Rs.15.6 lakh, or 1.1% of his funds. Union minister of state for health and Shiv Sena MP Prataprao Jadhav from Buldhana utilised just 0.8% of his allocation, spending Rs.12.1 lakh. Shiv Sena MP from Kalyan, Shrikant Shinde, has not utilised any of the Rs.14.7 crore allocated to him. Shinde disputed the figures, saying the data may not have been updated by the administration. "In my constituency, development works of over Rs.1,000 crore are going on, and all of them are visible. The MPLADS fund of Rs.5 crore is a small amount compared to the size of the Lok Sabha constituency. But still, at the local level, we recommend many works through it. The data needs to be updated by the administration, and I will look into it," said Shinde. Some prominent MPs also fell below the state average. NCP (SP) working president Supriya Sule utilised only Rs.1 crore of her Rs.14.7 crore allocation, or 6.9%, while union minister of state for civil aviation Murlidhar Mohol spent Rs.1.2 crore....