Bhubaneswar, Sept. 15: While the cash-strapped Orissa government has been clamouring for more funds to take up several development projects, a staggering Rs 100 crore under the MP Local Area Development (MPLAD) fund has been left unutilised.

Though the government claimed to have used 80.35 per cent of the fund, the state lies in an unimpressive 28th position in the country in terms of fund utilisation. Nagaland has topped the list by utilising 96.88 per cent of the allotted funds, followed by Andaman and Nicobar Islands (96.7 per cent), Chandigarh (95.81 per cent) and Mizoram (94.37 per cent).

The joint review of the additional secretary of the Union statistics and programme implementation ministry, R.C. Panda, and the state planning and coordination department yesterday revealed that the Centre had released Rs 496 crore since the inception of the MPLAD scheme in 1993-94.

With the accrual of interest, the funds available had gone up to Rs 503.77 crore. However, the state has spent only Rs 398.54 crore and an amount of Rs 105.23 crore has yet to be spent.

For several MPs, the easiest way to evade responsibility over the tardy progress of projects under the MPLAD scheme was to point accusing fingers at the district authorities concerned. ?What can I do if a district magistrate does not execute the plans?? asked Sangeeta Singhdeo, the BJP MP from Bolangir. She alleged that a sum of Rs 9 crore has not been utilised in the district due to the lack of initiative of the administration.

Echoing Singhdeo, several other MPs alleged that the administration of the districts concerned delayed the release of funds on a number of occasions. In other cases, they added, the agencies concerned failed to execute the projects on time.

State government officials too had their share of excuses to explain the delay in fund utilisation.

Some of the reasons cited by the planning and coordination department officials were late submission of project proposals and delay in the quantification of funds for the districts of choice, the model code of conduct (during Lok Sabha, Assembly, panchayat and civic elections), frequent diversion of projects proposed by MPs, non-cooperation of villagers, political intervention, land dispute and litigation.

The MPs stressed the need for effective and timely implementation of the projects as well as regular monitoring of MPLAD schemes.

Dhenkanal MP Tathagat Satpathy wanted the annual fund amount to be increased from the current Rs 2 crore to Rs 7 crore. He said there are seven Assembly segments in every Lok Sabha constituency and every segment has about 45 gram panchayats and more than one local urban body, with a minimum of 20 wards. So, he added, Rs 2 crore was not enough for the development of a constituency.