Union Minister G Kishan Reddy on Thursday announced the release of ₹619.85 crore to gram panchayats in Telangana by the Center as the first installment for the current financial year as recommended by the 16th Finance Commission.
The release includes ₹371.91 crore in ‘tied’ grants and ₹247.94 crore in ‘untied’ grants. The total amount allocated to the state under the 14th and 15th Finance Commissions is ₹14,110 crore, he said in a press release.
Mr. Kishan Reddy said that while ₹ 11,111 crore has already been released before January 2026, another ₹ 1,032.42 crore has been released from January 2026 for the financial year 2024-25 after the Panchayat elections are conducted. Telangana is also set to receive ₹9,968 crore in central grants from 2026-27 to 2030-31, he said.
The Union Minister expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Panchayati Raj Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh for their continued support to rural local bodies. The earmarked grants released for the current year can be used for works such as road construction, sewerage, drinking water supply, sewage management, maintenance of Open Defecation Free Villages (ODF), rainwater conservation and overall improvement of living standards in rural areas.
Untied grants can be used for development activities based on local requirements as decided in Gram Sabhas. He said the Finance Ministry has to transfer the funds to the respective Gram Panchayats within 10 working days of their release by the Centre, he explained.
In case of delay, the State Governments are liable to disburse the funds along with interest calculated as per the rates applicable for market borrowings or State Development Loans (SDL), said Mr. Kishan Reddy and also emphasized that it is the responsibility of the State Government to provide matching grants equal to the Central allocation.
Giving historical data, Mr. Kishan Reddy said that ₹ 5,060 crore was released to Telangana under the 14th Finance Commission in 2015-16 and 2019-20. Allocations under the 15th Finance Commission increased by 80 per cent to ₹9,050 crore between 2020–21 and 2025–26. He reiterated that central releases are subject to timely submission of Utilization Certificates (UC).
Published – 03 Apr 2026 0:25 IST
