The grants-in-aid allocated by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to states took a drastic hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, an RTI reply has revealed.
The answers to an RTI query filed by Robin Zaccheus, a social activist, reveal that the grants-in-aid released by MHA to states declined by 69 percent to Rs 1,874 crore in the financial year 2020-21 as compared to Rs 6,121.48 crore in 2019-20.
Grants-in-aid are funds given for assistance, donations or contributions by the central government to states, Union territories, Panchayati raj institutions and some agencies and bodies.
In the financial year 2021-22, the funds allocated by MHA to states increased slightly to Rs 2,355 crore, however, they were still 61 percent down compared to FY20, the pre-COVID period.
It is to be noted that grants-in-aid by the home ministry to states had seen a steady increase in five years from FY15 to FY20 with the funds up 48 percent during the period.
Meanwhile, the funds provided to Union territories (UTs) by the MHA have seen a sharp increase in the last three financial years.
The grants-in-aid to UTs rose 566 percent in FY20 to Rs 15,494 crore from Rs 2,326 crore, while they saw a jump of 122 percent in FY21 to Rs 34,428 crore. This number further increased to Rs 39,323 crore in FY22.
Grants-in-aid released by MHA to states/UTs from FY15 to FY22
| Financial Year | States | UTs |
| FY15 | Rs 4,133.88 crore | Rs 1,648 crore |
| FY16 | Rs 3,876.32 crore | Rs 1,784.93 crore |
| FY17 | Rs 5,655.02 crore | Rs 2,213.27 crore |
| FY18 | Rs 5,732.87 crore | Rs 2,190.99 crore |
| FY19 | Rs 5,768.44 crore | Rs 2,326.34 crore |
| FY20 | Rs 6,121.48 crore | Rs 15,494.41 crore |
| FY21 | Rs 1,874.07 crore | Rs 34,428.84 crore |
| FY22 | Rs 2,355 crore | Rs 39,323 crore |
| Total | Rs 35,517.08 crore | Rs 99,409.78 crore |
Over a period of time, grants-in-aid, with the exception of debt repayment, emerged as the single largest item of expenditure for the Union Government, according to a CAG report.
The effectiveness and utilisation of the grants-in-aid released by the government are monitored through utilisation certificates. A large number of outstanding utilisation certificates means a lack of monitoring and follow-ups in the concerned ministries and departments.
While the latest data on the utilisation certificates is not available, a CAG analysis shows 37,569 utilisation certificates involving Rs 51,527 crore were outstanding in 26 ministries and departments, as of March 31, 2015.
