- Centre clears Rs 2,500 crore for Telangana gram panchayats
- Funds to flow after elections, with strict digital rules
Hyderabad: The central government has cleared the release of 15th Finance Commission funds to Telangana gram panchayats, bringing long awaited relief to newly elected sarpanches. The Centre approved the release of pending funds worth about Rs 2,500 crore. As a result, gram panchayats that struggled for years without funds can now begin development work.
According to the information provided, the Centre will release at least Rs 1,000 crore by the end of this month. Meanwhile, it has agreed to release the remaining amount next month. With the completion of the sarpanch elections, officials said all hurdles to fund release have been removed. Therefore, villages across the state are expected to see renewed activity.
The issue dates back to January 2024, when the term of the panchayat governing bodies ended. However, elections were not held for several months. Because of this delay, the Centre stopped releasing funds for the 2024 to 25 financial year. Later, the state government conducted elections last month, which paved the way for fund clearance. As per the instructions of Minister Seethakka, Panchayat Raj officials visited Delhi and submitted a report. The Centre responded positively and sanctioned the funds. Also, the state government issued orders releasing Rs 277 crore as a Sankranti gift.
Meanwhile, the Centre has laid down strict conditions for using the 15th Finance Commission funds. The State Panchayat Raj Department issued guidelines to district collectors. Every gram panchayat must open a separate bank account and register it in the Public Financial Management System and the e Gram Swaraj portal. For fund disbursal, the sarpanch will act as the Checker and the sub sarpanch as the Maker. Both must obtain Class 3 digital signature certificates approved by MPDOs.
Later, the department clarified that all works must follow e procurement or tender procedures and registrations must be completed on the GeM portal. Funds will be available only after completing this entire process. Therefore, district officials have been asked to act quickly so that pending bills are cleared and new village works can begin under the new governing bodies.
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