Grants to local bodies in Telangana pending, the release will take time

Telangana awaits XV Finance Commission grants due to delay in local body elections and State Finance Commission recommendations.

Telangana Government will have to wait for some more time to securerelease of grants recommended by the XV Finance Commission. The grants are meant for the rural and urban local bodies in the State.

This is due to the XIV Finance Commission’s decision making it mandatory that only ‘duly elected’ panchayats will be eligible to receive its recommended grants. In contrast, the term of the elected bodies in the State expired few months ago and special officers are governing the bodies presently.

The State has been allocated ₹7,201 crore during the XV Finance Commission period (60% of the quantum as tied grant and another 40% as untied grant) during the five year period from 2021-22 to 2025-26. Of these, the State was sanctioned ₹1,365 crore in 2021-22 and ₹1,415 crore in 2022-23. The allocation for the previous financial year 2023-24 was ₹1,430 crore of which, ₹715 crore had been released and the State is yet to get the first instalment for the current fiscal.

The State a few days ago announced to take upthe ambitious door-to-door survey (socio, economic, educational, political and caste census) with two-month deadline a few days ago. The main objective behind the survey is said to be enumeration of backward classes so that reservation for them in the local bodies elections could be finalised. Since, the survey and finalisation of reservations would take more time, the Government is unlikely to hold elections to the local bodies till then.

The Finance Commission laid down the entry level criteria for obtaining the grants that include publishing provisional and audited accounts in public domain and fixation of minimum floor rates for property taxes and improvement in the collection of property taxes (an additional requirement after 2021-22 for urban local bodies). No grants would be released to local bodies of a State after March this year if the State does not constitute State Finance Commission and act upon its recommendations by then.

The State has constituted the State Finance Commission headed by former MP Sircilla Rajaiah in February,2024, but the commission has not submitted its recommendations before the stipulated deadline for the State Government to act upon. This would further delay the release of the Finance Commission grants.