WAJAHAT SHABIR
SRINAGAR: A year after securing three of the four Rajya Sabha seats from Jammu and Kashmir, the National Conference’s three Members of Parliament have recorded zero expenditure and no completed development works under the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS), according to their latest performance reports.
The three MPs — Gurwinder Singh Oberoi, Sajjad Ahmad Kichloo and Chowdhary Mohammad Ramzan — were elected on October 24, 2025, in the first Rajya Sabha elections held in Jammu and Kashmir since the reorganisation of the erstwhile state in 2019.
An examination of their MPLADS performance reports, generated on November 10, 2026, shows that each MP has an allocation of ₹7.4 crore, taking their combined allocation to ₹22.2 crore.
However, the recorded expenditure against the allocation stands at zero for all three members. None of the MPs has any completed work reflected in the reports. The performance of the three members also reveals considerable differences in the amount of funds recommended for development works.
Among the three, Kichloo has recommended the highest amount of funds for development projects. Against an allocation of ₹7.4 crore, he has recommended works worth ₹2.7 crore, accounting for 37.1 per cent of his allocation. However, the report records zero expenditure and zero completed works. As many as 18 works remain pending, while the entire recommended amount of ₹2.7 crore is reflected as balance not yet paid.
His recommended projects include construction of borewells and tube wells, an auditorium at SKIMS Soura, procurement of ambulances for District Hospital Kishtwar and medical equipment and furniture for the hospital.
Ramzan has recommended works worth ₹26 lakh against his allocation of ₹7.4 crore, representing 3.5 per cent of the total allocation. The report records zero expenditure and no completed works, with two projects pending.
The recommended projects include installation of solar streetlights in Block Drugmulla and procurement and installation of two 100 KVA electric transformers at Wani Mohalla, Tumina, and Kasana Mohalla near Bala Masjid Shareef, Hatchmarg. The performance report of Gurwinder Singh Oberoi, also known as Shammi Oberoi, presents an even more concerning picture in terms of fund recommendations.
Against an allocation of ₹7.4 crore, the report records no recommended amount, zero expenditure and zero completed works. There are also no pending works or in-progress payments reflected in his report. Taken together, the three MPs have an allocation of ₹22.2 crore. Of this, ₹2.96 crore has been recommended for development works, including ₹2.7 crore by Kichloo and ₹26 lakh by Ramzan. Despite these recommendations, the recorded expenditure remains zero across all three reports. A total of 20 works recommended by Kichloo and Ramzan are yet to be marked complete.
The figures raise questions over the pace of development work being recommended and executed under MPLADS by the three elected representatives, particularly when Jammu and Kashmir has been without Rajya Sabha representation for nearly five years before the 2025 elections.
The four Rajya Sabha seats from Jammu and Kashmir had remained vacant since February 2021, following the retirement of the sitting members. Elections could not be held in the absence of an elected Legislative Assembly after the erstwhile state was reorganised into a Union Territory in August 2019.
The Election Commission of India announced the election schedule in September 2025, with polling held on October 24, 2025. These were the first Rajya Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 and the subsequent reorganisation of the erstwhile state.
The National Conference secured three of the four seats, while the BJP won the remaining seat. The NC’s successful candidates were Chowdhary Mohammad Ramzan, Sajjad Ahmad Kichloo and Gurwinder Singh Oberoi, also known as Shammi Oberoi. The BJP’s Sat Sharma won the fourth seat.
