Out of total sum of about Rs 913 crore available under the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) with the district authorities in Tamil Nadu, Rs 801 crore has been spent, said Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. The data pertains to the 16th Lok Sabha and as on March 26.

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According to the figures, the total entitlement for Tamil Nadu during the 16th Lok Sabha was about Rs 982 crore while the funds released by the central government was Rs 870 crore. As per the figures, the percentage of utilization over the released sum stands at about 92 per cent for Tamil Nadu.

The unspent balance available under the MPLADS in the state is about Rs 112 crore. As per MPLADS, the role of an MP is restricted to recommending a project. It is the responsibility of the district authority to sanction funds and execute the projects recommended by the MP.

"We consider the amount sanctioned by the MPs as an additional parameter to measure an MP's performance in Parliament while awarding the Sansad Ratna award," K.Srinivasan, Founder, Prime Point Foundation, told IANS. The Foundation has been awarding top performing MPs since 2010.
 

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"During the interactions with the MPs over the years, we found that local politics come into play in sanctioning the projects if the MP belongs to a different party and the state government is run by another party," Srinivasan said.