Center releases Rs 1,789 crore to rural bodies of 5 states!

The central government on Tuesday said it has released more than Rs 1,789 crore under the 15th Finance Commission grant to strengthen rural local bodies in five states.

The Central Government has released ‘Untied Grants’ for Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs)/Rural Local Bodies (RLBs) in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra during the financial year 2025-26. This release includes allocations relating to different financial years and is aimed at further strengthening rural local governance.

The second installment of ‘Untied Grant’ worth Rs 232.60 crore has been released to all 33 eligible District Panchayats (DP), 146 Block Panchayats (BP) and 11,693 Gram Panchayats (GP) in Chhattisgarh. Further, out of the withheld amount of first installment, Rs 8.0238 crore has been released to 1 DP, 8 BP and 350 GP.

Similarly, Gujarat has received Rs 509.2177 crore as the second installment, which includes 33 DP, 247 BP and 14,563 GP, the Panchayati Raj Ministry said. Also, out of the withheld amount, Rs 14.64 lakh has been released to 2 additional GPs.

For Madhya Pradesh, Rs 630.6454 crore has been released as first installment of ‘Untied Grant’ for 51 DP, 296 BP and 22,914 GP. Additionally, Rs 104.6556 crore has also been released as withheld share of first and second installment of FY 2023-24 for 21 additional eligible DPs, 106 BPs and 834 GPs.

Whereas in Telangana, Rs 256.2101 crore has been released as the second installment (for FY 2024-25), covering 12,702 GPs.

Maharashtra has received Rs 151.1856 crore as withheld share of the first and second installment of FY 2022-23, which has benefited 12 DPs, 125 BPs and 324 GPs.

The grants allocated are recommended and released in two installments in a financial year. Untied grants will be utilized by RLBs for location-specific felt needs, except salaries and other establishment costs.

TIDE grants can be used for basic services like sanitation and maintenance of ODF status; This should specifically include management and treatment of domestic waste, management of human excreta and fecal sludge and supply of drinking water, rain water harvesting and water recycling.