08/10/2022

1. Sarpanches stage protest seeking release of 15th Finance Commission funds

Context:
A large number of sarpanches staged a demonstration demanding the release of funds
devolved by the 15th Finance Commission for the gram panchayats.

Background:

Reasons for protest:

 the State government was due to give about ₹950 crore to the gram panchayats but it
was not transferring the money citing various excuses.
 the 15th Finance Commission funds were due to be provided to the gram panchayats
for quite some time, but it was not being done because of the constraints faced by the
government.
 attempts were being allegedly made to divert the money to Public Deposit accounts.

 The sarpanches expressed concern that they were unable to get even day-to-day civic
maintenance works done in the villages. Paucity of funds was hampering drinking
water supply and sanitation.
 A sarpanch said a sum of ₹7,600 crore was diverted earlier, which made governance
impossible for the rural local bodies.
Finance commission
 Under Article 280, of the Constitution, the President of India is required to constitute
a Finance Commission at an interval of five years or earlier, its core responsibility is
to evaluate the state of finances of the Union and State Governments, recommend the
sharing of taxes between them, lay down the principles determining the distribution of
these taxes among States.
15th Finance Commission

 The Finance Commission (FC) is a constitutional body, that determines the method
and formula for distributing the tax proceeds between the Centre and states, and
among the states as per the constitutional arrangement and present requirements.
 The 15th Finance Commission was constituted by the President of India in November
2017, under the chairmanship of NK Singh.
 Its recommendations will cover a period of five years from the year 2021-22 to 2025-
26.
 1. The criteria and the weights assigned for horizontal devolution by 15th FC are:

 Population: 15%
 Area: 15%
 Forest & Ecology: 10%
 Income Distance: 45%
 Tax and Fiscal Efforts: 2.5%
 Demographic Performace: 12.5%
The commission has also re-introduced the tax effort criterion to reward fiscal performance.
15th Finance Commission On Local Governments:
 Rs. 4,36,361 crore is the total grant given to the local governments for the period of
2021-26. Out of the total grant; Rs.450 crore is dedicated to the shared municipal
services. The grants to local bodies will be made available to all three tiers of
Panchayat- village, block, and district.
Grants to Rural Local Bodies:
 A total sum of Rs. 2,36,805 crore is a grant for the rural local bodies.
Grants to Urban Local Bodies:
 Rs.1,21,055 crore is the total grant for the urban local bodies.
 Of these total grants, Rs. 8,000 crore is performance-based grants for incubation of
new cities and Rs. 450 crore is for shared municipal services.
 Urban local bodies have been categorised into two groups, based on population, and
different norms have been used for the flow of grants to each, based on their specific
needs and aspirations.
 Basic grants are proposed only for cities/towns having a population of less than a
million. For Million-Plus cities, 100% of the grants are performance-linked through
the Million-Plus Cities Challenge Fund (MCF).
 MCF amount is linked to the performance of these cities in improving their air quality
and meeting the service level benchmarks for urban drinking water supply, sanitation
and solid waste management.
Grants for Health to be Channelised through Local Governments:
 Rs. 70,051 crore stands for the Health grant to the local governments.
The health grants will be provided for:
 conversion of rural sub-centres and primary healthcare centres (PHCs) to health and
wellness centres (HWCs),
 support for diagnostic infrastructure for primary healthcare activities, and
 support for urban HWCs, sub-centres, PHCs, and public health units at the block
level.
 Grants to local bodies (other than health grants) will be distributed among states based
on population and area, with 90% and 10% weightage, respectively.
 The Commission has prescribed certain conditions for availing these grants (except
health grants).
The entry-level criteria include:
 publishing provisional and audited accounts in the public domain,
 fixation of minimum floor rates for property taxes by states and improvement in the
collection of property taxes (an additional requirement after 2021-22 for urban
bodies).
 No grants will be released to local bodies of a state after March 2024 if the state does
not constitute State Finance Commission and act upon its recommendations by then.

2. Dowleswaram barrage declared as World Heritage Irrigation Structure

Context:
The 170-year-old Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage (Dowleswaram Anicut) across the Godavari was
declared as a World Heritage Irrigation Structure by the International Commission on
Irrigation and Drainage (ICID).

Background:
The anicut construction had commenced in April 1847 and was ready by March 1852. Prior
to the 1850s, the region was ravaged by famines.
Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage (Dowleswaram Anicut) located on the Godavari river has not only
helped in rural and agricultural development, but also mitigate famine and droughts in the
region for over a century
The old anicut was constructed by Sir Arthur Cotton during 1857-62 which has served the
delta system for more than a century. As it was showing signs of distress, the anicut was
replaced by Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage (S.A.C.B.) during the years 1970-88.
Gross Storage : 2.931 TMC
 Between Dowlaiswaram
(V),Rajahmundry Rural(M),East
Location: : Godavari District and Vijjeswaram
(V),Nidadavolu (M), West Godavari
District.

Ayacut: : 10,09,009 Acres ( East and West Godavari District )

The Barrage consists of 4 Arms with 175 Bays with a length of 3.599 Km .

1) Dowlaiswaram Arm with 70 Bays

2) Ralli Arm with 43 Bays.

3) Madduru Arm with 23 Bays and

4) Vijjeswaram Arm with 39 Bays.

3. CM asks civic bodies to continue the good work

Context:
The Chief Minister asked the administrators of the award-winning civic bodies who called on
him to continue the good work.

Background:
Andhra Pradesh won 11 awards in the Swachh Survekshan conducted by the Ministry of
Housing and Urban Affairs as part of Swachh Amrit Mahotsav.
Mayors and officials of the Tirupati, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam municipal corporations,
and chairpersons and Commissioners of the Pulivendula, Punganuru, Podili and Saluru civic
bodies, besides the Commissioner of Srikakulam Municipal Corporation, were among the
awardees for their respective localities performance.

4. WWF initiative on biodiversity launched in Vijayawada city

Context:
As part of the Wildlife Week being observed across the country, WWF India, in coordination
with the State Forest Department and Amaravati Boating Club, launched an initiative called
‘Vijayawada Citizens for Biodiversity’.

Background:
Wildlife Week is annually observed across the country from October 2 to 8 to promote the
conservation and protection of animal and plant life.

World Wide Fund for Nature History

 Founded on 29th April 1961.
 Its precursor organisation was the Conservation Foundation.
 Its original name was World Wildlife Fund.
 WWF Headquarters – Gland, Switzerland.
 WWF works in the areas of climate, food, forests, freshwater, oceans and wildlife
primarily.
 It runs several projects in various fields in partnership with people, bodies and
governments worldwide.
 In species conservation, they focus on tigers, elephants, gorillas, giant pandas, sea
turtles, polar bears, rhinos and whales.
 Through its various projects, the organisation aims to check the degradation of the
earth’s natural environment and create a future in which human beings live in
harmony with nature.
 Campaigns launched by WWF include Earth Hour and Debt-for-Nature Swap.
5. Second expert committee meeting of DST-SERB begins
Context:
The three-day expert committee meeting of the Science and Engineering Research Board
(SERB) of Department of Science and Technology, on Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
(E&AS), began at Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy (IIPE), Vishakhapatnam.
Background:

Science and Engineering Research Board

 It is a statutory body under the Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of
Science and Technology established by an Act of the Parliament of India in 2009.
 It is chaired by the Secretary to the Government of India in the Department of Science
and Technology and has other senior government officials and eminent scientists as
members.
 It was set up for promoting basic research in science and engineering and to
provide financial assistance to scientists, academic institutions, Research and
Development laboratories, industrial concerns and other agencies for such research.