A major political controversy has erupted in Jammu and Kashmir after a nominated Rajya Sabha member from the Union Territory reportedly diverted a significant portion of his MP LAD funds to Uttar Pradesh.
After a national Hindi newspaper published the report in its Sunday edition, political parties launched an attack on the BJP in general and Rajya Sabha member Engineer Ghulam Ali Khatana in particular over the alleged diversion of development funds to Uttar Pradesh.
According to reports, Engineer Ghulam Ali Khatana recommended 176 development works under the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS). Of these, 144 projects — about 83 per cent — were located in Uttar Pradesh, while only 32 were sanctioned in Jammu and Kashmir.
Financial records indicate that roughly Rs 10.58 crore was allocated to five associations in Uttar Pradesh, compared with approximately Rs 94 lakh — about 6 per cent of the total — in Jammu and Kashmir.
Within Uttar Pradesh, four organisations collectively received around 84 per cent of the allocation. Arambagh Enterprises was the single largest recipient, receiving approximately Rs 5.29 crore. A significant concentration of works was reported in Pratapgarh district, where 150 projects were recommended.
The distribution has drawn criticism from opposition leaders in Jammu and Kashmir.
Defending his decision to divert funds to different parts of the country, Engineer Ghulam Ali Khatana told The International Business Times that, being a nominated Rajya Sabha member, he has the right to allocate funds in any part of the country.
“Before becoming a Rajya Sabha member, I worked with the Muslim Rashtriya Panch, so I have connections all over the country. I usually give funds from MPLAD as per recommendations of our leadership”, he said.
Taking serious note of the report, Congress spokesperson Namrata Sharma told the International Business Times that the disclosure had exposed what she described as the BJP’s duplicity.
“If a huge portion of MP LAD funds has indeed been diverted to a single firm, it raises serious questions about transparency and accountability. It’s high time the BJP high command takes note and ensures a fair and thorough review of the matter,” she said, adding that the BJP leadership was least concerned about corruption and nepotism.
“MP Ghulam Ali Khatana directed 94 per cent of MPLAD funds to Uttar Pradesh, with 144 out of 176 works located outside Jammu and Kashmir — the very region he represents in Parliament,” she posted on social media.
“Shockingly, these funds were diverted to a state that already has massive parliamentary representation — 80 MPs in the Lok Sabha and 31 in the Rajya Sabha — while Jammu and Kashmir has barely nine in total. This injustice inflicted on Jammu by the Bharatiya Janata Party reflects why people rejected such politics, giving him zero votes even from his own booth,” she further alleged.
“Even more alarming are reports that a substantial share of projects and funds were concentrated among only a few agencies or firms, raising grave concerns about fairness, transparency, and whether public money truly served the people it was meant to uplift,” the Congress leader added.
Aditya Gupta, Youth President of the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party, alleged in a post on X that the pattern reflected a political approach in which electoral support from Jammu and Kashmir did not translate into development spending in the region.
Tanvir Sadiq of the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference said the allocations raised questions about representation and the equitable distribution of development funds, and criticised what he described as the broader approach of the Bharatiya Janata Party towards the Union Territory.
The Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) is a Central Sector Scheme launched in December 1993 that allows Members of Parliament to recommend developmental works in their constituencies. Fully funded by the Government of India, each MP is entitled to Rs 5 crore annually (as of 2011–12) to focus on creating durable community assets such as roads, schools, drinking water facilities, and sanitation infrastructure.
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