T.N. gets basic grant for local bodies without holding elections

Tamil Nadu has not held elections to local bodies but this has not come in the way of the Centre sanctioning nearly ₹ 1,390 crore towards the basic grant for the local bodies.

Normally, the grant is given if there are elected local bodies and this is on the basis of recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission.

Of the amount released by the Centre in the form of first instalment, village panchayats have been provided around ₹758 crore; municipal corporations — ₹253 crore; municipalities — ₹196 crore and town panchayats — ₹183 crore.

This year, the allocation for the State is about

₹ 2,780 crore, of which the rural local bodies’ share is ₹1,516 crore and urban local bodies’ share — ₹1,264 crore. Within the urban local bodies, municipal corporations will get about ₹505 crore, municipalities — ₹392 crore and town panchayats — ₹367 crore. A senior official says although the Union Panchayati Raj Ministry was not favourably inclined towards the case of Tamil Nadu initially, it was the Union Finance Ministry that took a “lenient view” and cleared the State government’s request.

Another official says Tamil Nadu is not the only State to have been given the treatment.

Uttar Pradesh is another State, where polls to urban local bodies should have been held by now.

As for Tamil Nadu, the elections were even slated for October 2016 but they got postponed then due to the Madras High Court’s intervention.

Cases are still pending with the High Court and the Supreme Court.

The State government’s stand was that as the delimitation of reserved constituencies became the major subject of litigation last year, it would prefer to wait till the completion of the delimitation exercise, the process of which is under way.

Although there was no restriction regarding the utilisation of funds sanctioned under the basic grant, the practice had been to spend the funds towards operation and maintenance of water supply, streetlights and sanitation and payment of charges to the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation or Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board.

Two years ago, Chennai Metrowater requested the State government to provide 50% of the devolution of funds out of Chennai Corporation’s share. But the State government decided to set apart only 10% following the suggestion of the Chennai Corporation, which had cited its own rising financial burden.