15th Finance Commission Grants Released After March 2026, Centre Tells Lok Sabha
The Government of India has clarified that no untied grants under the Fifteenth Finance Commission (XV FC) were sanctioned or released to Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and Rural Local Bodies during June and July 2026, as the award period of the Commission concluded on March 31, 2026.
The clarification was provided by the Minister of Panchayati Raj, Shri Rajiv Ranjan Singh (Lalan Singh) in a written reply to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 389, raised by Shri Kalyan Banerjee.
No XV Finance Commission Grants After March 2026
Responding to the question on whether over ₹592 crore in untied grants had been sanctioned and released during June and July 2026, the Minister stated that no such grants were released because the Fifteenth Finance Commission’s award period had already ended on March 31, 2026.
Consequently, the Government said that the question regarding the amount released to West Bengal did not arise.
Transition from MGNREGA to VB-GRAM-G
The Ministry of Rural Development informed Parliament that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) remained operational until June 30, 2026. From July 1, 2026, it has been replaced by the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), commonly known as VB-GRAM-G, under the VB-GRAM-G Act, 2025.
According to the Government, the new legislation replaces the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005, while continuing to provide employment opportunities for rural households under the revised framework.
Budget Allocations and Fund Releases
The Government also shared details of budget allocations and fund releases under MGNREGS during the last four financial years.
Financial Year | Budget Estimate (₹ crore) | Revised Estimate (₹ crore) | Final Allocation (₹ crore) | Actual Release (₹ crore) |
| 2022–23 | 73,000 | 89,400 | 90,956 | 90,810 |
| 2023–24 | 60,000 | 86,000 | 89,363 | 89,268 |
| 2024–25 | 86,000 | 86,000 | 86,000 | 85,839 |
| 2025–26 | 86,000 | 88,000 | 88,000 | 87,366 |
The figures indicate that the Government consistently enhanced allocations beyond the original Budget Estimates in several years and released nearly the entire sanctioned amount.
Pending Wage Liabilities
The Government stated that wage payments under the scheme are made directly to beneficiaries through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mechanism. It further said that admissible pending liabilities from previous financial years are reimbursed at the beginning of each new financial year.
According to the Ministry, all due and admissible pending wage liabilities up to FY 2025–26 have been cleared, except in the case of West Bengal.
For West Bengal, pending wage liabilities amount to ₹1,457.22 crore. However, the Government clarified that the admissibility of this amount remains subject to verification by the Central Government, and therefore has not yet been released.
Key Highlights
- No Fifteenth Finance Commission untied grants were released to Panchayats during June–July 2026.
- The XV Finance Commission award period ended on March 31, 2026.
- MGNREGS was replaced by VB-GRAM-G from July 1, 2026.
- Nearly the full sanctioned funds under MGNREGS were released during FY 2022–23 to FY 2025–26.
- All admissible pending wage liabilities have been cleared except those related to West Bengal, where ₹1,457.22 crore remains under verification.
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