Centre releases Rs 2,200 crore as first instalment to 15 states for improvement of air quality measures

Based on the recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission, the Union Finance Ministry on November 2 released Rs 2,200 crore as the first instalment to 15 states for the improvement of air quality measures in their million-plus cities,

GST compensation dues: Finance Ministry releases Rs 6,000 crore as second tranche to 16 states and 3 UTs.

The government has directed the states to directly transfer the grants-in-aid to all Million-Plus urban agglomerations/cities within 10 working days of receipt from the Centre without any deduction.

The ministry added that any delay will require the state governments to release the same with interest as per the effective rate of interest on market borrowings/State Development Loans (SDLs) for the previous year.

"The nodal entity shall also have the responsibility of achieving the performance indicators for the entire urban agglomeration," said the statement.

The ministry claimed that the grant is intended to be utilised for air quality improvement measures, including capacity building of the local bodies within million-plus city or aggregations. Also, the Centre said the funds are intended as meeting the additional needs of State Pollution Control Boards to appropriately assist the local bodies in monitoring the ambient air quality.

The Government, based on the recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission, has released Rs 2,200 crore as the first installment to 15 States for the improvement of air quality measures in their million-plus cities. Release details and State-wise breakup: pic.twitter.com/e9bg4pnrMr

— NSitharamanOffice (@nsitharamanoffc) November 2, 2020

The states which have been chosen for allocation of these funds include Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.