Centre Disburses Over Rs 24,610 mn in XV Finance Commission Grants

State-wise disbursements included Rs 3,324.6 mn for Punjab, Rs 9,432.7 mn for Madhya Pradesh, Rs 3,478.9 mn for Chhattisgarh, Rs 7,638.3 mn for Gujarat and Rs 99.0 mn for Sikkim. The amounts were released as instalments for the financial year and in some cases comprised withheld portions from earlier instalments. Senior officials indicated that the funds target eligible Gram Panchayats, Block Panchayats and District Panchayats across the five states.

Withheld and untied portions were released to address compliance and eligibility matters and to ensure continuity of services; Himachal Pradesh received Rs 138.0 mn as untied grant releases and Odisha received Rs 350.9 mn in untied grants covering multiple instalments. Tripura received smaller withheld releases and untied fund releases to cover eligible Gram Panchayats. Untied grants will be utilised by Panchayati Raj institutions and rural local bodies for location-specific needs under the subjects listed in the Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution, excluding salaries and other establishment costs.

The tied grants are earmarked for core basic services including sanitation and maintenance of open defecation free status, management and treatment of household waste and faecal sludge management, and for supply of drinking water, rainwater harvesting and water recycling. The Ministry of Panchayati Raj and the Ministry of Jal Shakti recommended the release of XV Finance Commission grants for rural local bodies and the Ministry of Finance effected the disbursals. Allocations were recommended and released in two instalments in a financial year and collectively support thousands of panchayats across the eight beneficiary states.