Telangana Releases ₹296.6 Crore Matching Grant To ULBs, Unlocks ₹1,483 Crore Finance Commission Funds

The state government on Tuesday released `296.6 crore to municipalities as its matching grant under the 16th Finance Commission guidelines, paving the way for Telangana to access `1,483 crore in state performance frants.

The municipal administration and urban development (MA&UD) department issued orders sanctioning the amount through GO Rt No. 933 from the State Budget. It specified that the amount will be transferred directly to the urban local bodies (ULBs) concerned and the Secunderabad Cantonment Board. The commissioner and director of municipal administration was directed to furnish expenditure details and utilisation certificates to the Accountant-General and the government.

The state government has laid special focus on sanctioning funds for municipalities to develop towns and Tier-2 cities. Recently, the Union department of economic affairs (DEA) screening committee on October 9 approved a proposal for external assistance of `5,000 crore from Germany’s development bank KfW for the Telangana Climate Resilient Urban Transformation Initiative (Telangana-CRUTI).

The programme, estimated to cost `7,143 crore, envisaged a contribution of `2,143 crore from the Telangana government, with the remaining amount proposed to be mobilised through KfW assistance.

A major component of Telangana-CRUTI was the Comprehensive Sewerage and Wastewater Management Transformation Project of the Greater Warangal Municipal Corporation, estimated to cost approximately `5,257 crore.

The broader Telangana-CRUTI initiative will support a range of urban infrastructure and climate-resilience measures in select ULBs. These include round-the-clock water supply, stormwater management, rejuvenation of waterbodies, integrated solid waste management, blue-green infrastructure and sustainable mobility.

The initiative is expected to strengthen urban infrastructure while helping cities respond to climate-related challenges through improved water management, better drainage and environmentally sustainable development.