New Delhi, 19 February (HS): The Central Government has released the Fifteenth Finance Commission Grants for the Rural Local Bodies of Bihar, Haryana and Sikkim during the financial year 2024-25.

According to the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Bihar has received the second installment of untied grant amounting to Rs.821.8021 crore and a share of Rs.47.9339 crore of the first installment of untied grant has been withheld. These funds are for all 38 District Panchayats, 530 eligible Block Panchayats and 8052 eligible Gram Panchayats who have fulfilled the mandatory conditions for release.

The rural local bodies in Haryana will get the second installment of untied grant of Rs.202.4663 crore and the withheld share of the first installment of untied grant will be Rs.7.5993 crore. These funds are for 18 eligible District Panchayats, 142 eligible Block Panchayats and 6195 eligible Gram Panchayats.

Sikkim will get second installment of untied grant of Rs 6.2613 crore during FY 2024-25. These funds are for 4 eligible Zilla Panchayats and 186 eligible Gram Panchayats who have fulfilled the mandatory conditions for release.

The untied grant will be used by Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and Rural Local Bodies (RLBs) for location-specific needs under 29 subjects enshrined in the Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution, excluding salaries and other establishment costs. Tied grants can be used for basic services. These should include maintenance of sanitation and open defecation-free conditions and management and treatment of domestic waste, particularly management of human excreta and faecal sludge, and supply of potable water, rainwater harvesting and water recycling.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar