Funds to pour in after constitution of bodies
Will identify, execute works on their own
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Oct 19: The Central Government has announced an annual grant of Rs 775 crore directly to 4490 Panchayats and Rs 525 crore to 79 Urban Local Bodies in Jammu and Kashmir with effect from their formal constitution, which is expected by December to facilitate strengthening of the Local Bodies and developmental works by them.
“The grants will flow every year now till the elected Panchayats and Urban Local Bodies were in place and will be at the sole discretion of the civic bodies, which will identify and execute the developmental works on their own without any interference by the State Government excepting some supervisory powers enshrined under the official rules,” official sources told the Excelsior.
The annual grant, according to sources, could be further increased after review of expenditure at the end of every financial year. The release of grants had been assured by the Centre once the process for holding elections to Panchayats and Municipalities was set in motion by the then Governor NN Vohra in July this year.
However, after implementation of majority of provisions of 73rd and 74th amendments of the Constitution of India pertaining to Panchayats and Municipalities, the Centre has given formal nod to release of the grants, which would start flowing immediately after the constitution of civic bodies. While the Urban Local Bodies are expected to be constituted by the end of this month, the elected Panchayats would be in place by ending December as last phase of Panchayat polls is scheduled to be held on December 11.
The release of grants, according to official sources, has been formally conveyed to the State Government by the Centre after successful completion of exercise for holding elections to Urban Local Bodies and initiating the process for Panchayat elections, which would begin on November 17 and completed in nine phases.
“There will be no interference of State Government in expenditure of majority of grants by the Panchayats and Municipalities after implementation of major provisions of 73rd and 74th amendments of the Constitution of India, which give major powers to the civic bodies in deciding developmental works of their areas and executing them,” sources said, adding that Panchayats and Municipalities are also being given powers to impose and collect certain taxes and use them as their own resources.
Under the 14th Finance Commission (2015-2020), the Centre had allocated Rs 4161 crore but the money remained blocked due to the rider by the Union Finance Ministry that only the elected urban local bodies and rural local bodies (Panchayati Raj institutions) will get the grant to strengthen the grassroots democratic institutions.
The 14th Finance Commission had proposed Rs 3117.36 crore for Panchayats and Rs 1044.51 crore for the Municipalities.
The ULBs have so far suffered a total loss of Rs 1200 crore as Rs 900 crore worth grants had been blocked during the past few years by the Union Government in the absence of any elected bodies in place for the past over eight years now. Rs 300 crore worth grants were stopped during last financial year of 2017-18.
The Panchayats got their due grants for full five years from 2011 to 2016 but the grants amounting to Rs 700 crore were blocked by the Government of India once the elected Panchayats ceased to exist as no elections were held to them after 2016.
The practice of blocking the grants in the absence of elected Panchayats and ULBs was aimed at encouraging the State Governments to hold regular elections to Panchayats and Municipalities for keeping democracy restored at grass-root level and facilitate developmental works identified by the local representatives of the people.
The previous PDP-BJP coalition Government in its meetings with various representatives of the Central Government had cited “exceptional circumstances” of Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of militancy and other disturbed conditions for not holding elections to the Panchayats and Municipalities seeking release of grants but the Centre didn’t oblige.
According to sources, the 14th Finance Commission grants can be re-validated by the Government of India.
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