The state government has released funds worth Rs 29 crore, sent by the Centre, to the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) for hill panchayats.

A letter dated March 12 from the office of the special secretary of the panchayat and rural development department to the GTA stated that the sum had been credited to the latter's bank account.

"A sum of Rs 15.7 crore has been sanctioned as tied fund and Rs 13.6 as untied fund,” said a GTA source.

Tied funds are for specific projects while rural bodies can pick projects to be executed with untied funds.

The funds pertain to financial years 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24 (first installment).

The Centre started releasing funds to hill panchayats after the 2023 rural polls. Before this, rural polls in the hills were last held in 2000.

The hill region didn't get rural funds for years in the absence of elected rural bodies.

Communications from Delhi earlier revealed that the hills lost funds worth Rs 447.44 crore only between 2015 and 2019, as the 2015 panchayat ministry guidelines linked the release of finance commission grants to elected panchayat bodies.

In 2019, the Centre informed the Bengal government that states received funds for only elected rural bodies on a pro-rata basis (proportionately) after deducting a sum for panchayats without people’s representatives.