Govt releases ₹137 crore under 15th
Finance Commission Grants to strengthen Rural Local Bodies in Goa, Meghalaya,
Sikkim, Uttarakhand
¨
More than ₹137 crore
under the Fifteenth Finance Commission (XV-FC) Untied Grants was released by
the Union Government.
¨
The grant has been
released to strengthen Panchayati Raj Institutions and Rural Local Bodies in
Goa, Meghalaya, Sikkim and Uttarakhand.
¨
The grants were released
during FY 2025–26 to further reinforce rural local governance across the
beneficiary states.
¨
The allocation was made
for different financial years and was intended to improve grassroots
institutional capacity.
¨
In Goa, ₹11.60 crore was
released as the second instalment for FY 2023–24 for two eligible District
Panchayats and 191 Gram Panchayats, along with ₹2.979 crore of withheld funds.
¨
Meghalaya received ₹27
crore as the second instalment for FY 2021–22 covering the Autonomous District
Councils of Khasi, Garo and Jaintia.
¨
For Sikkim, ₹6.60 crore
was released for FY 2025–26 benefiting six District Panchayats and 199 Gram
Panchayats, along with ₹0.165 crore for one additional District Panchayat.
¨
Uttarakhand received the
largest share of ₹89.4117 crore as the first instalment for FY 2025–26 covering
13 District Panchayats, 95 Block Panchayats and 7,568 Gram Panchayats.
¨
The grants are
recommended by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj and the Department of Drinking
Water and Sanitation under the Ministry of Jal Shakti and are released by the
Ministry of Finance in two instalments annually.
¨ Untied Grants will be used by local bodies for location-specific needs under the Eleventh Schedule, excluding salaries and establishment expenses.
¨ Tied Grants will support essential services such as sanitation, ODF maintenance, waste and fecal sludge management, drinking water supply, rainwater harvesting and water recycling.
