Around Rs 23,848 crore will be transferred to Panchyati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) as per recommendations of 5th State Finance Commission. This was finalised in the High Level Monitoring Committee Meeting held under the Chairmanship of Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy recently.
Reviewing the issues relating to transfer of funds as presented by Principal Secretary Finance Ashok Meena, Chief Secretary Tripathy directed the Panchayats and urban bodies to expedite implementation and maximize outcomes of the expenditure. Development Commissioner Suresh Chandra Mohapatra asked the self government bodies to take up need based projects having revenue generation potential so as to make those sustainable in the long run.
Tripathy directed the ULBs to diversify their revenue base and achieve six per cent increase in annual revenue generation.
Further, Chief Secretary Tripathy directed to release the funds directly to the GPs, Panchayat Samities and Zilla Parishads through PRIASOFT integrated with online Integrated Financial Management System ( IFMS) system. It was decided to transfer the funds in two tranches viz. 1st installment in the month of May-June and 2nd installment in the month of October-November. The 2nd installment would be released only after completion of the 30 percent of the work taken up under the fund.
Chief Secretary directed the PRIs and ULBs to submit the utilization certificates in time as per specifications of finance department.
Principal Secretary Finance Meena appraised that the total fund of around Rs 2,23,848 crore would be transferred to these bodies over a period of six years from 2020-21 to 2025-26. Out of this fund, around Rs 7,321 crore would be under the head of devolution, Rs 9,678 crore would be under assignment of taxes, and, around Rs 6,849 crore would be provided as grant-in-aid.
Meena further said the PRIs would get a total amount of around Rs 15,715.60 crore and the ULBs would get an amount of around Rs 8,132.52 crore during this period.