THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Highlighting the delay in releasing the 15th Finance Commission grant of Rs 687 crore for the 2024-25 financial year, Local Self-Government Minister M B Rajesh informed Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal Khattar that the hold-up was due to a last-minute condition imposed by the centre.
According to Rajesh, the condition was neither mentioned in the Finance Commission’s report nor in the centre’s operational guidelines. The new condition states that the unspent funds from the 14th Finance Commission grant should not exceed 10%.
The issue was brought to the Union minister’s attention at a joint meeting at Nirman Bhavan in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Another major issue raised during the discussion was the PMAY housing scheme.
Under the scheme, a total of Rs 4 lakh is provided per house, with the centre contributing Rs 1.5 lakh and the state covering Rs 2.5 lakh.
The centre has made it mandatory to brand each house under PMAY, a demand that the state government has consistently opposed. The chief minister had written to the prime minister requesting an exemption from branding for individual beneficiary schemes, as it could hurt the self-respect of recipients.