The Central government has released the Fifteenth Finance Commission (XV FC) Grants and the first installment of Untied Grants of the Financial Year 2021-22 amounting to Rs 27 crore for the three autonomous district councils in Meghalaya.
The Centre through the Ministry of Panchayati Raj and Ministry of Jal Shakti (Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation) recommends release of XV–FC Grants to the states for rural local bodies (district councils in the case of Meghalaya) which are then released by the Ministry of Finance. The allocated grants are recommended and released in two installments in a financial year.
The Untied Grants provided to Rural Local Bodies are designated for location-specific needs across the 29 subjects outlined in the Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution, with the exception of expenses related to salaries and other establishment costs.
Meanwhile, the Tied Grants are dedicated to supporting essential services, including (a) sanitation efforts and maintenance of Open Defecation-Free (ODF) status, covering household waste management, human waste treatment, and fecal sludge management, and (b) ensuring the supply of drinking water along with rainwater harvesting and water recycling initiatives.
