Kolkata: The Union government has released the 15th Finance Commission (FC) grants of more than Rs 699 crore during financial year 2024-25 for the rural local bodies in Bengal. The released amount includes the second instalments of the ‘Untied Grants’ amounting to Rs 694.44 crore and another Rs 4.93 crore which was the withheld portion of the first instalment.
The release of funds under the 15th FC is significant for the state, with the Centre withholding funds for projects like 100 days work, rural housing and rural roads. The state government has released funds for construction of 12 lakh rural houses entirely from the state exchequer. The Central funds are for the 21 eligible District Panchayats, 326 eligible Block Panchayats and 3,220 eligible Gram Panchayats. The ‘Untied Grants’ would be utilised by Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs)/Rural Local Bodies (RLBs) for location-specific felt needs, under the 29 subjects enshrined in the Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution, except for salaries and other establishment costs.