Solution

The Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance released an amount of Rs. 1,764 crore to 4 States for providing grants to Million Plus Cities/Urban Agglomerations.  The States to which grants were released are Andhra Pradesh (Rs. 136 crore), Chhattisgarh (Rs. 109 crore), Maharashtra (Rs. 799 crore) and Uttar Pradesh (Rs. 720 crore). The 15th Finance Commission (15th F.C.) in its report for the period from 2021-22 to 2025-26 has divided the Urban Local Bodies into two categories: (a) Million-Plus urban agglomerations/cities (excluding Delhi and Srinagar), and (b) all other cities and towns with less than one million population (Non-Million Plus cities).  The 15th F.C. has recommended separate grants for them. Out of the total grants recommended by the Commission for Million Plus Cities/ Urban Agglomerations (MPC/UAs), more than 2/3rd is recommended for Solid Waste Management component and the remaining 1/3rd  is allocated for Ambient Air quality. Total grant of Rs. 4,761.8 crore released to Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) so far in 2022-23. Learn Along: Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) are small local bodies that administers or governs a city or a town of specified population. Urban Local Bodies are vested with a long list of functions delegated to them by the state governments. These functions broadly relate to public health, welfare, regulatory functions, public safety, public infrastructure works, and development activities.