New Delhi, March 31 – The government announced on Tuesday that it had released over ₹1,500 crore as grants from the 15th Finance Commission to strengthen local governance in rural areas in six states.
The Centre had sanctioned and released both tied and untied grants during the fiscal year 2025–26 to Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs)/Rural Local Bodies (RLBs) in Telangana, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Mizoram, and Meghalaya, to further empower grassroots governance and enable locally-driven development based on need.
For Telangana, ₹247.94 crore was released as the first installment of untied grants for the financial year 2025-26. These funds are for the 12,600 Gram Panchayats (GPs) in the state.
Similarly, for Uttarakhand, ₹91.31 crore was released as the second installment of untied grants for the financial year 2025-26, benefiting all 13 District Panchayats (DPs), 95 Block Panchayats (BPs), and eligible 7,784 GPs.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj stated that an additional ₹1.84 crore from the withheld portion of the first installment of untied grants for the fiscal year 2025-26 was also released to an additional 216 GPs.
₹315.61 crore was released for Rajasthan as the second installment of untied grants for the fiscal year 2025-2026. These funds are for all 33 DPs, all 352 BPs, and eligible 3,857 GPs in the state.
Additionally, ₹12.57 crore from the withheld portion of the first installment of untied grants for the fiscal year 2025-26 was also released to an additional 9 Zilla Panchayats and 13 BPs.
Meghalaya received ₹27 crore as the second installment of untied grants for the fiscal year 2021-22. These funds are for all 3 eligible Autonomous District Councils (Khasi, Garo, and Jaintia) in the state.
The Union Government also released a second installment of tied grants to Meghalaya amounting to ₹22.20 crore. These funds are for all 816 eligible Village Councils, including those in the Autonomous District Councils, in the state, according to the ministry.
For Maharashtra, the Centre released ₹109.06 crore each as the withheld portions of the 1st and 2nd installments of tied grants, benefiting an additional 12 eligible DPs and 125 BPs.
In addition, Maharashtra also received ₹116.97 crore as the withheld portion of the 1st installment for the fiscal year 2024–25, covering an additional 12 DPs, 125 BPs, and 27 GPs.
"While ₹329.21 crore has been released as the withheld portion of the 2nd installment of Tied Grants for FY 2024–25 to an additional 12 DPs, 125 BPs and 5,249 GPs. Furthermore, ₹72.70 crore each has been released as the withheld portions of the 1st and 2nd instalments of XV FC Untied Grants for FY 2025–26, benefiting the same set of 12 DPs and 125 BPs," informed the ministry.
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