Ifra Jan

Party President Dr Farooq Abdullah & VP & Honourable CM @OmarAbdullah have expressed grief & shock over the tragic killing of two Special Police Officers in Kishtwar district. Strongly condemning the cowardly act of violence, the leaders extended their heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and prayed for strength and courage to bear this irreparable loss.

Reports Showing Only 26 Lakh Utilisation of MPLADS Funds are Misleading and Factually Incorrect: Chowdry Mohammad Ramzan MP and Leader J&K National Conference Party in Rajya Sabha, Chowdry Mohammad Ramzan has taken strong exception to the incorrect and misleading reports circulated by certain news channels and digital news portals regarding the utilisation of his Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) funds. He clarified that the figures being circulated, showing an expenditure of merely 26 lakh, are entirely misleading and far removed from the actual financial position and the developmental initiatives undertaken through his MPLADS allocations. Chowdry Mohammad Ramzan explained that he took oath as a Member of Parliament on 1 December 2025. The process of obtaining access to and securing the release of MPLADS funds involves several mandatory formalities, including the selection of a nodal district, completion of requisite administrative procedures and creation of the MPLADS account. The entire process takes approximately five to six months, following which the funds are released and made available for developmental works. The actual funds became available only few months ago. He further clarified that MPLADS-funded works involve several administrative and procedural requirements, including examination of proposals, approval by the concerned authorities and tendering. Consequently, a substantial number of works are presently at different stages of the tendering process. This is a procedural requirement and should not be misconstrued as non-utilisation or lack of developmental activity. As per the revised financial statement, against the total available funds of 7.35 crore, an amount of 5.091 crore has been released. The MPLADS allocations have been extended across different districts including Srinagar, Bandipora, Baramulla,Kupwara and Budgam covering a wide range of public welfare and developmental sectors. These include drinking water supply, road connectivity,electricity, construction and improvement of pathways, solar and street lights, fire and emergency services, hospital equipment, block-level development works, protection walls, culverts and assistance under the disability fund. Furthermore, an allocation of 60 lakh for SKIMS Soura has also been made for developmental purposes, and the project is presently under the tendering process. Chowdry Mohammad Ramzan emphasised that MPLADS funds are being channelled towards addressing essential public needs and strengthening basic infrastructure across different areas. Several works are at different stages of execution, while others are undergoing administrative and tendering processes. He also pointed out that the same procedural timeline and administrative requirements apply to his fellow Members of Parliament belonging to the party, whose developmental proposals are similarly at different stages of processing and tendering. The actual status of these works can be independently verified from the concerned Deputy Commissioners of Different Districts who are the nodal authorities responsible for MPLADS implementation. Therefore, portraying the entire MPLADS utilisation through a selective figure of 26 lakh, without considering the broader financial position and developmental allocations, presents a grossly distorted picture. He urged the concerned news channels and digital news portals to exercise due diligence, verify official records before publishing financial figures and immediately correct the misleading report which have been Circulated/published.