Mumbai, June 26 -- 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%....