Karnataka Minister Khandre urges MPs to push for release of pending Rs 2,186 cr central funds

Bengaluru, July 16 (PTI) Karnataka Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, Eshwar Khandre, has written to all MPs elected from the state, urging them to pressure the central government to release the pending Rs 2,186.20 crore earmarked for the Gram Panchayats for the fiscal 2025–26 under the recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission. In his letter, Khandre stated that the Centre cited software-related technical issues as the reason for the delay, which has adversely affected rural development in Karnataka at a time the state was facing rainfall shortage. He appealed to all Karnataka MPs to exert pressure on Union Minister for Panchayati Raj Rajiv Ranjan Singh to ensure the immediate release of the pending funds, the Minister's office said in a release. Khandre said that despite the Karnataka government fulfilling all prescribed conditions, the Centre has withheld the Rs 2,186.20 crore earmarked for the state's Gram Panchayats for the financial year 2025-26. He noted that the department had written to the Centre on the matter and he had personally requested the Union Minister to release the funds, but received no response. According to the letter, Karnataka has already submitted the fund utilisation certificates for FY 2024–25 and successfully uploaded Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDPs) before the August 2025 deadline. The state also provided satisfactory responses to all queries raised by the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj. Despite this, the Centre has not released the funds, citing technical issues. Khandre urged all MPs from Karnataka to take up the matter with the Union Panchayati Raj Minister and ensure the release of the Rs 2,186.20 crore due to the state's Gram Panchayats in the interest of rural development. Letters have been sent to Union Ministers and Karnataka MPs, including Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman, Pralhad Joshi, H D Kumaraswamy, V Somanna, and Shobha Karandlaje, as well as Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge. PTI KSU ROH