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Our Correspondent
Kohima, July 17 (EMN): The Finance ministry has released the first instalment of tied grants for rural local bodies (RLB) amounting to INR 15,187 crore to all the states, based on the recommendation of the 15th Finance Commission.
The first instalment for Nagaland is INR 31.25 crore for the year 2020-21.
The states have been directed to transfer the grants-in-aid within 10 working days of receiving the fund without any deduction.
Any delay beyond 10 working days will require the state government to release the same with interest as per the effective rate of interest on market borrowings/state development loans (SDLs) for the previous year, according to the Finance ministry.
It added that the tied grant could be used by the local bodies for basic services including ‘sanitation and maintenance of open-defecation free status, supply of drinking water, and rain water harvesting and water recycling’.
Further, it directed the local bodies to earmark one-half of these tied grants to these services. However, if any local body has fully saturated the needs of one category, it can utilise the funds for the other category.