New Delhi: Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance today released an amount of 1154.90 crore rupees to four states for providing grants to Urban Local Bodies. The States to which grants were released on Monday are Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, and Sikkim. The grants released are meant for Non-Million Plus cities 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. These are Million-Plus urban agglomerations and cities excluding Delhi and Srinagar, and all other cities and towns with less than one million population. The 15th Finance Commission has recommended separate grants for them.
Out of the total grants recommended by the Commission for Non-Million Plus cities, 40 percent is a basic grant and the remaining 60 percent is a tied grant. Basic grants are utilized for location-specific felt needs, except for payment of salary and incurring other establishment expenditures.
On the other hand, 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 percent is earmarked for ‘Sanitation Solid Waste Management and attainment of star ratings as developed by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. The remaining 50 percent is tied to ‘Drinking water, rainwater harvesting and water recycling’.
