KTR urges Sitharaman to release pending dues to Telangana

Telangana Industries and IT Minister of KT Rama Rao (KTR) on Saturday wrote a letter to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman requesting her to release the pending grants to Urban Local Bodies in the state.

Telangana IT Minister urges Nirmala Sitharaman to release pending grants of state

As per the official release, the Minister in the letter said that the 15th finance commission has recommended that the grants amounting Rs 468 crores to the million-plus city like Hyderabad and Rs 421 crores to non-million-plus cities in the state should be released in two equal instalments in June and October 2020.

"This recommendation was already accepted by the union government and an Action Taken Report to this effect was also placed in the Parliament," it said.

According to the release, Rao stated that with the grant to million-plus cities is yet to be released, and the grant to non-million-plus cities which has been split into four instalments, its first instalment amounting to Rs 105.25 crores has been released on May 19, 2020.

"Additional budget provisions matching the Central Finance Commission grants made in the state Budget 2020-21, pending the report of the first state finance commission clearly demonstrates the commitment of the state. It is in the context that the non-release of statutorily mandated Finance Commission grants and the COVID induced shortfall in the state's own revenues has handicapped the state," Rao said.

He further alleged that the state was denied its rightful entitlement in the grants to urban local bodies recommended by the fourteenth finance commission (2015-20).

"While the commission recommended an unconditional basic grant of Rs 2,711.12 crores, the amount released by the Centre was Rs 2,502.90 crores and thus a shortfall of Rs 208.22 crores," he said.

Rao said Telangana had fulfilled all the conditional attached to the performance grant of Rs 677.79 crores, but the amount released to the state was only Rs 235.81 crores, and therefore the state was denied Rs 650.20 crores of the statutory grant to urban local bodies, though the full amount was released to some other states.

"Minister KTR requested Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman to arrange the immediate release of all pending dues under FC that is a total of Rs 1433.95 crores which includes the overdue first instalment of the grant to million-plus cities (Rs 468 crores) the balance second instalment of the grant to non-million-plus cities (Rs 315.75 crores) and the pending statutory grants recommended by the 14th Finance Commission (Rs 650.20 crores)," he added.

( With inputs from ANI )