Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi slams govt over ‘missing’ MPLADS data of top ministers

New Delhi: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi has raised sharp questions over the transparency of the Indian government’s digital monitoring of development funds, alleging that public data for several high-profile Union Ministers has been "zeroed out" or left outdated on official portals.

She issued a formal concern on Wednesday regarding the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) after . She alleged that the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) and its dedicated e-SAKSHI portal, designed for real-time tracking of constituency projects, are failing to provide an accurate picture of how top government officials are utilising their allocations.

Allegations of Data Stagnancy

Chaturvedi highlighted a lack of updated information for senior cabinet members, including Home Minister Amit Shah, Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, and Shri Ramdas Athawale. According to the lawmaker, public records for these ministers in the 18th Lok Sabha (2024–29) often display "zero" utilisation or reflect data only from previous terms.

Gaps in Fund Utilisation

The controversy comes as the MPLADS dashboard reflects an overall fund utilisation rate of 30.6% across both houses of Parliament for the current term. However, the underlying data reveals significant bottlenecks:

• Unfinished Projects: Nearly ₹1,709.7 crore ($205 million) is currently tied up in "incomplete works," where payments have been processed, but physical assets remain unfinished.
• Sanction Delays: Parliamentary guidelines mandate that district authorities sanction or reject projects within 45 days, yet many projects remain in limbo without digital alerts being triggered on the portal.