The Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance of the Central Government today released an amount of Rs. 1348.10 crore to 6 States for providing grants to Urban Local Bodies.
The States include Jharkhand (Rs. 112.20 crores), Karnataka (Rs. 375 crores), Kerala (Rs. 168 crores), Odisha (Rs.411 crores), Tamil Nadu (Rs.267.90 crores), and Tripura (Rs.14 crores). The grants released are meant for Non-Million Plus cities (NMPCs) including Cantonment Boards.
The 15th Finance Commission in its report for the period from 2021-22 to 2025-26 has divided the Urban Local Bodies into two categories: (a) Million-Plus urban agglomerations/cities (excluding Delhi and Srinagar), and (b) all other cities and towns with less than one million population (Non-Million Plus cities).
Separate grants have been recommended for both types of cities. Out of the total grants recommended by the Commission for Non-Million Plus cities, 40% is a basic (untied) grant and the remaining 60% is a tied grant. Basic grants (untied) are utilized for location-specific felt needs, except for payment of salary and incurring other establishment expenditures.
Tied grants for the Non-Million Plus cities are released for supporting and strengthening the delivery of basic services. Out of the total tied grant, 50% is earmarked for ‘Sanitation Solid Waste Management and attainment of star ratings as developed by the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MOH&UA). The remaining 50% is tied to ‘Drinking water, rainwater harvesting and water recycling.
The Government of India has released a total amount of Rs.10,699.33 crore so far in the current financial year to the States as grants to the Non-Million Plus cities. These grants are released by the Ministry of Finance on the recommendations of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
