Centre releases Rs 1,091 crore for rural local bodies in Bengal, Andhra

New Delhi, Oct 9 (IANS) The Government of India has released Rs 1091.47 crore as the first instalment of untied grants under the Fifteenth Finance Commission for rural local bodies in West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj on Thursday.

A sum of Rs 680.71 crore was released to West Bengal on October 6 in respect of the eligible 3,224 Gram Panchayats, 335 Block Panchayats and 21 Zilla Parishads across the state for the financial year 2025–26, the statement said.

During the previous financial year 2024–25 and current financial year 2025–26, a total amount of Rs 4,181.23 crore has been disbursed to West Bengal, comprising Rs 2,082.13 crore as untied grants and Rs 2,099.10 crore as tied grants, underlining the Government of India’s continued commitment to strengthening grassroots governance and service delivery through Panchayati Raj institutions in the state, according to the statement.

The Union Government has also released Rs 410.76 crore to Andhra Pradesh for all 13 District Panchayats (Zilla Praja Parishads), 650 eligible Block Panchayats (Mandal Praja Parishads) and 13,092 eligible Gram Panchayats (GPs) out of 13,327 GPs in the State for the financial year 2025–26.

The first instalment of the untied grants will be utilised by rural local bodies for location-specific felt needs, under the 29 subjects enshrined in the Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution, except for salaries and other establishment costs, the statement explained.

The tied grants can be used for the basic services of sanitation and maintenance of ODF (Open Defecation-Free) status, and this should include management and treatment of household waste, and human excreta and fecal sludge management in particular. These grants can also be used for the supply of drinking water, rainwater harvesting and water recycling.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj has launched initiatives such as SabhaSaar, an AI-powered tool for recording and summarising Gram Sabha proceedings, SVAMITVA for digital land mapping and property rights, eGramSwaraj for integrated online planning, accounting and monitoring.

Besides, Gram Manchitra has been rolled out for geo-spatial planning. These platforms not only improve transparency and efficiency but also empower citizens to participate more actively in local governance.

--IANS

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