Trudging along a near-dilapidated road leading to Loni in Uttar Pradesh, the stretch near Shiv Vihar Metro station in North East Delhi has clearly seen better days. With little room to manoeuvre, an entire entourage of vehicles uses a single carriageway for both incoming and oncoming traffic to avoid severe damage and the risk of overturning. Uttar Pradesh Parivahan buses, however, continue to ply the legally prescribed route, even though it has deteriorated beyond safe use.
The situation has raised questions among many Delhi voters about how their elected parliamentarians are spending public funds. According to Yusuf Ali, an e-rickshaw driver, traffic has effectively been using only one side of the road for years.
“I have always used a single route for coming into Delhi and going to Loni. It is not safe to travel on the broken road at all,” he said. Ali added that the practice was dangerous for pedestrians as well. “The other day, a person was crossing the road and was looking on only one side, not aware that the road has vehicles going to and fro. He got out of the way just in time, otherwise he would have collided with my rickshaw.”
MPLADS spending snapshot
Nearly 20 months after the 18th Lok Sabha convened in May 2024, a performance snapshot of the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) shows a consistent pattern across Delhi’s seven constituencies: recommendations have been made, but completion remains limited.
Under the MPLADS framework, each sitting MP receives an annual allocation of Rs 5 crore to recommend small, constituency-focused development projects. As of January 2026, with almost two financial years having elapsed, each MP has had access to a cumulative Rs 10 crore.
The scheme is intended to be straightforward: MPs recommend local works, district authorities grant formal sanction, and funds are utilised to create public assets that directly benefit local communities.
North East Delhi
North East Delhi Lok Sabha MP Manoj Tiwari attributed slow progress to limited funds spread across a large constituency. According to official data, he has recommended 15 works, with one completed, and recorded an expenditure of Rs 2.39 crore.
“Much of the work is under way, or in the process of being sanctioned,” Tiwari said. “The reason for fairly simple tasks is owing to the Rs 5 crore cap that we are presented with. Essentially, I have 41 wards under me, and the amount of money becomes very negligible, especially when it comes to completing bigger work.”
He said he aimed to distribute funds evenly so that “all wards, or at least the majority of people are affected positively by the change”.
A significant portion of MPLADS funds in the constituency has been earmarked for CCTV surveillance. On June 22, 2025, two tenders were floated through the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) for CCTV-cum-Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras, amounting to Rs 2.5 crore and Rs 47.7 lakh respectively.
“We have a law and order situation, and for that, the demand of the police was crucial to stop the crime,” Tiwari said. “Basically, where the police says that a place is important, we deploy it; the rest is suggested by the police and it is controlled by them.”
East Delhi
In East Delhi, most MPLADS funds have been earmarked for park development and open-air gym equipment. MP Harsh Malhotra has recommended 99 works, completed none, and disbursed Rs 60 lakh on ongoing projects.
Malhotra said delays were largely due to procedural bottlenecks at the MCD. “There are a lot of checks and balances which go into the entire procedure. Auditing is done, a quality check is followed through, and then the amount of money is disbursed. After that when the payment is done, the work is counted as completed,” he said.
He added that his focus was on creating accessible spaces for physical activity. “The focus is to enable senior citizens and women, especially homemakers, find a safe space for them to be active in,” he said, noting that the initiatives align with the Fit India movement.
Among the recommended works are a senior citizen centre (around Rs 29 lakh), a badminton court (Rs 24 lakh), and lighting poles at various locations (Rs 23 lakh).
New Delhi
New Delhi MP Bansuri Swaraj has recommended 94 works and completed four, with a total expenditure of Rs 64 lakh on ongoing and completed projects. She is the only Delhi MP to have allocated MPLADS funds for road construction, though these works remain unfinished.
“The road development initiatives in the New Delhi constituency are a direct response to a high volume of requests from Residents’ Welfare Associations, market associations, and the general public,” Swaraj said. She added that the projects focus on internal lanes, residential colonies, and high-footfall market areas where deteriorating conditions posed safety concerns.
Public lighting and security have also been prioritised, she said, citing the need to eliminate “dark spots” in residential lanes, parks, and pedestrian corridors. “In addition to essential security lighting, new ornamental and aesthetic installations have been provided as well,” she said.
Swaraj added that Rs 10 lakh had been sanctioned under MPLADS for CCTV cameras and boom barriers, supplemented by a corporate social responsibility initiative, Suraksha Kavach Pehel, which distributed 600 cameras across 150 locations in its first phase.
West Delhi
West Delhi has seen extensive deployment of boom barriers, particularly in affluent neighbourhoods. MP Kamaljeet Sehrawat has undertaken 47 works, completed none, and recorded no expenditure so far.
“Our decisions are mostly made after talking to Residents’ Welfare Associations, since they are the primary stakeholders in these cases,” Malhotra said, referring to the consultation process followed in the constituency.
Sehrawat could not be reached despite repeated attempts.
Chandni Chowk
Chandni Chowk MP Praveen Khandelwal has recommended 61 works, completed none, and recorded no disbursement. Most of the earmarked funds have been allocated for lighting, with a significant portion also set aside for parks and open-air gyms.
Khandelwal could not be reached despite multiple attempts.
South Delhi
In South Delhi, MP Ramvir Singh Bidhuri’s recommendations have largely focused on middle-income areas such as Tughlakabad, where he resides, and the industrial area of Harkesh Nagar in Okhla. According to the dashboard, he has recommended 89 works, completed none, and recorded an expenditure of Rs 23 lakh.
Bidhuri, however, disputed the figures. “I have spoken to all the stakeholders and already recommended works amounting to Rs 9.97 crore. The funds have already been disbursed and are now at the hands of the municipal corporation,” he said, adding that he had only Rs 3 lakh left to allocate.
North West Delhi
North West Delhi MP Yogender Chandolia has earmarked funds primarily for parks and street lights. A sum of Rs 25 lakh has also been set aside for the proposed Lahori Gate Museum at Chandni Chowk, though sanctioning remains incomplete.
Chandolia has recommended 45 works, completed none, and incurred an expenditure of Rs 3.32 lakh on ongoing projects. He could not be reached for comment.
As the incumbent Central government approaches the two-year mark, Delhi’s MPs face a lacklustre report card. While most recommendations were made in 2025, the 2024 scoresheet remains largely vacant, underscoring the gap between planning and execution under the MPLADS framework.
