Key Highlights
- ₹821.80 crore (second tranche) plus ₹47.93 crore (previously withheld) released for Bihar’s Panchayats.
- Haryana receives ₹202.47 crore (second tranche) and ₹7.60 crore from the held first installment.
- Sikkim is allocated ₹6.26 crore in the second installment for its district and gram panchayats.
- Grants are split into untied (flexible) and tied (sanitation & drinking‑water) components.
- Funds become operational only after states satisfy the Finance Commission’s mandatory compliance checklist.
Detailed Insights
The fifteenth Finance Commission (XV FC) has cleared its 2024‑25 grants for Rural Local Bodies (RLBs) in three states, earmarking a mix of unrestricted and earmarked resources. Bihar’s allotment of ₹821.8021 crore (second instalment) together with ₹47.9339 crore from the delayed first instalment will flow to 38 district panchayats, 530 eligible block panchayats and 8,052 gram panchayats. Haryana’s share of ₹202.4663 crore (second instalment) plus ₹7.5993 crore from the withheld first instalment is slated for 18 districts, 142 blocks and 6,195 villages. Sikkim’s modest ₹6.2613 crore will support four district panchayats and 186 gram panchayats.
Untied grants empower Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) to address location‑specific development priorities under the Eleventh Schedule, while expressly prohibiting expenditure on salaries or core administrative overheads. Tied grants are earmarked for two priority sectors: (i) sanitation and ODF‑maintenance—including waste‑water treatment and fecal‑sludge management, and (ii) drinking‑water infrastructure, such as rain‑water harvesting and water‑recycling schemes.
By injecting fiscally stable resources, the XV FC aims to reinforce decentralised governance, accelerate delivery of essential services at the grassroots, and minimise project‑implementation delays across the three states.