From parliament to panchayat; 11 of 13 Punjab MPs prioritise rural development—Check details

In a recent study of the allocation of MPLAD funds in Punjab, it has been discovered that 11 out of the total 13 Lok Sabha MPs have voted for rural development, distributing most of their funds to villages. Gurjeet Singh Aujla is alone in this deviation, having distributed 76.4% of his funds to urban sectors, with Amritpal Singh (Khadoor Sahib) not displaying any fund allocation since he is now behind bars.

Lok sabha MPs: most funds to villages

• Sarvjit Singh Khalsa takes the top spot with 93.3% of his ₹2.80 crore MPLAD funds utilized in villages, followed by Sher Singh Ghubaya (83.3%) and Raj Kumar Chabbewal (85.1%).
• Gurjeet Singh Aujla spent a mere 23.6% on villages and the remaining funds on cities, being the lone MP who has a city-biased approach.
• Similar focus on rural expenditure has also been shown by other MPs such as Malvinder Kang, Sukhjinder Randhawa, and Simranjit Singh Mann, with more than 70% of their expenditure occurring in villages.

Of Punjab's Rajya Sabha members, 4 of 7 distributed more money to urban pockets. Sanjeev Arora used 70.5% of his ₹8.24 crore on cities, and Balwinder Bhunder invested 86% of his ₹5.63 crore in villages. Rajya Sabha MPs Sandeep Pathak and Raghav Chadha also favored urban development, spending 63.9% and 69.7% of their money in cities, respectively.

Key insights

• The statistics point out that, generally speaking, MPs in Punjab have taken a greater interest in rural development, answering the call of villages where infrastructure and amenities tend to trail behind those in urban areas.
• The lone exception amongst Lok Sabha MPs is Gurjeet Singh Aujla, who has precisely focused more on urban projects.
• The Rajya Sabha trend is more urban-rural in nature, with some members representing cities and others representing villages.

This review points out the ongoing focus on rural development in Punjab, with most MPs devoting their resources to village development, while others continue to focus on city issues.