Grant-in-aid of Rs.4189.58 crore released to Rural Local Bodies in Various States

The Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, on Wednesday released an amount of Rs. 4,189.58 crore to Karnataka (Rs. 628.07 crore), Tripura (Rs. 44.10 crore), Uttar Pradesh (Rs. 2239.80 crore), Andhra Pradesh (Rs. 569.01 crore) and Gujarat (Rs. 708.60 crore) for providing grants to the Rural Local Bodies.

This grant-in-aid represents the first tranche of tied funds for the financial year 2022–23 granted in favour of Karnataka, Tripura, and Uttar Pradesh, as well as the second tranche of tied grants for the financial year 2021–22 released in favour of Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.

A recommendation from the 15th Finance Commission (FC-XV) According to the Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation’s recommendations, tied grants are made available to Rural Local Bodies (RLBs) for the purpose of enhancing two crucial services: (a) sanitation and maintenance of open-defecation free (ODF) status; and (b) supply of drinking water, rain water harvesting, and water recycling.

Out of the total Grant-in-Aid allotted to Panchayati Raj institutions, 60% is designated for national priorities like drinking water supply, rainwater harvesting, and sanitation (referred to as tied grants), while 40% is untied and is to be used at the discretion of the Panchayati Raj institutions for location specific felt needs.

The Local Body grants are meant to ensure additional funds to Rural local bodies over and above the funds allocated by the Centre and the State for sanitation and drinking water under the Centrally Sponsored Schemes.

Rural Local Bodies must meet requirements in order to be eligible for funds in the fiscal years 2021–2022 and 2022–2023. To improve transparency, the regular holding of local body elections, and the creation of annual development plans by the local bodies, certain requirements have been set down.

Both the provisional accounts from the prior year and the audited accounts from the prior year must be prepared and made publicly accessible online by at least 25% of the local bodies in order to be eligible for both tied and untied funds. The accounts must also be submitted on the Audit Online and eGramswaraj portals. Only legitimately elected local councils are eligible for the funding.

Additionally, Rural Local authorities must submit development plans on eGramSwaraj that include information about the Annual Action Plan for Sanitation and Drinking Water Supply in order to qualify for a linked grant. Information on the supply of drinking water, rainwater harvesting, and water recycling shall be included in the annual action plan for the drinking water supply. The condition and upkeep of the ODF, as well as the planning and execution of SLWM interventions in the local body, are included in the annual action plan for sanitation. Local governments are required to post on the website the specifics of how the 15th F.C. money [both components] were used.

The States are required to transfer the grants to the local bodies within 10 working days of receipt from the Union Government. Any delay beyond 10 working days requires the State Governments to release the grants with interest.

State-wise amount of Rural Local Bodies Grants released so far in 2022-23 is given below;

State-wise amount of Rural Local Bodies Grants released in 2022-23