Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji

Panaji, Oct 2: Goa’s 191 village panchayats are facing a major financial crunch as the Centre has withheld over Rs 152 crore in grants allocated under the 15th Finance Commission, pending since 2022-23. In addition, another Rs 61 crore earmarked for the current financial year remains unreleased, hampering the delivery of essential civic services in rural areas.

According to data from the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj, the Centre has so far released only 42% of the total Rs 368-crore allocation for the State under the 15th Finance Commission (2020–2026). No funds have been disbursed for 2023-24 and 2024-25, despite allocations of Rs 58 crore and Rs 62 crore, respectively.

In 2022-23, Goa was allocated Rs 57 crore, but received only Rs 24.23 crore — the first instalment of Rs 14.54 crore came in October last year, followed by a second instalment of Rs 9.69 crore in December. Since then, no further allocation orders have been issued, even as other States, including Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu, received their first instalments for the ongoing fiscal in August. States like Mizoram (2023-24), Gujarat (2024-25), and Arunachal Pradesh (2022-23) have also secured their pending grants.

Sources said the Centre is withholding funds due to non-submission of utilisation certificates and pending account audits by Goa’s panchayats. “Unless this data is provided, there is no chance for the release of funds,” they added, highlighting the delay despite repeated reminders from the State government.

At the start of the 15th Finance Commission period, the Centre had released Rs 75 crore in 2020-21 and Rs 55 crore in 2021-22 as tied and untied funds for the State’s panchayat bodies.

The Commission mandates that 90% of the grants be given as basic grants and 10% as performance-based grants, to be used for improving basic civic infrastructure such as water supply, sanitation, sewerage, solid waste management, storm water drainage, maintenance of community assets, roads, footpaths, street lighting, and burial/cremation grounds.

Historical data reveals that Goa has struggled to secure its full allocations in earlier finance commission periods. Of the Rs 593.31 crore allotted to Goa across the 13th, 14th, and 15th Finance Commissions (2010–2026), only Rs 290.7 crore has been released so far. During the 14th Finance Commission (2015–2020), Goa received Rs 125.98 crore of the Rs 133.76 crore earmarked. However, performance under the 13th Finance Commission (2010–2015) was abysmally low, with just Rs 10.49 crore (10%) of the Rs 91.55 crore allocation reaching the State.

The ongoing freeze on grants has left Goa’s rural local bodies cash-strapped, affecting their ability to maintain basic civic amenities and infrastructure.