Shillong, Jul 22: Meghalaya has received only around 13 percent of the Rs 711 crore in funds allocated to it by the 15th Finance Commission for rural local bodies between 2021 and 2026.
Out of the Rs 711 crore allocated, only Rs 94.50 crore has been disbursed. The only North East state doing worse in terms of proportion received is Manipur (Rs 65.5 crore out of Rs 690 crore, or 9.50 percent). Contrast these two with Assam (Rs 6,253 crore), Mizoram (Rs 362 crore) and Tripura (Rs 746 crore), which all received their full 100 percent allocation, or Sikkim (Rs 162.78 crore out of Rs 165 crore, or 98.66 percent).
This information was provided by Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.
Unreleased amounts represent grants that could not be released during the award period due to non-fulfilment of the prescribed eligibility conditions by the concerned state governments or the rural local bodies.
Meghalaya does not have panchayats in the sense that most of the rest of India does. Instead, municipal boards still run on unelected lines appointed by the state in parallel with traditional local bodies under the district councils.
Although the exact reason for Meghalaya’s deficit was not explained by the Union Minister, the state’s district councils have fallen short in the past with their financial management systems, including in the submission of audited financial reports and utilisation certificates.
