Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy on Thursday announced the release of ₹619.85 crore to gram panchayats in Telangana by the Centre as the first instalment for the current financial year, as recommended by the 16th Finance Commission.The release comprises ₹371.91 crore in ‘tied’ grants and ₹247.94 crore in ‘untied’ grants. The total allocation to the State under the 14th and 15th Finance Commissions stands at ₹14,110 crore, he said in a press release.Mr. Kishan Reddy said that while ₹11,111 crore had already been released before January 2026, an additional ₹1,032.42 crore was released since January 2026 for the financial year 2024–25, following the conduct of Panchayat elections. Telangana is also set to receive ₹9,968 crore in Central grants during the period 2026–27 to 2030–31, he said.The Union Minister expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Panchayati Raj Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh for their continued support to rural local bodies. The tied grants released for the current year can be utilised for works such as road construction, sanitation, drinking water supply, wastewater management, maintenance of open defecation-free (ODF) villages, rainwater conservation and overall improvement of living standards in rural areas.The untied grants can be used for development activities based on local requirements, as decided in Gram Sabhas. He said the State Finance Department must transfer the funds to the respective Gram Panchayats within 10 working days of their release by the Centre, he explained.In the event of delays, State Governments are required to disburse the funds along with interest calculated at rates applicable to market borrowings or State Development Loans (SDLs), said Mr. Kishan Reddy and also emphasised that it is the responsibility of the State Government to provide matching grants equal to the Central allocation.Providing historical data, Mr. Kishan Reddy said ₹5,060 crore was released to Telangana under the 14th Finance Commission between 2015–16 and 2019–20. Allocations under the 15th Finance Commission rose by 80 per cent, amounting to ₹9,050 crore between 2020–21 and 2025–26. He reiterated that Central releases are subject to the timely submission of Utilisation Certificates (UCs).Published - April 03, 2026 12:25 am IST