Palghar | September 5, 2026
The Palghar Zilla Parishad will rework the distribution of unspent funds under its supplementary plan for 2025-26 to address concerns over regional imbalance, Chief Executive Officer Manoj Ranade said, according to a report by Loksatta.
The supplementary plan was prepared under the 15th Finance Commission. The district council administration said the remaining funds would be redistributed according to the needs of different talukas and with the aim of maintaining geographical balance. The revised allocation is expected to include pending sanitation work at 14 Zilla Parishad schools and repairs to anganwadis.
The decision follows objections over the distribution of the supplementary plan, under which Mokhada received approval for 35 works and Vikramgad for 15 works, while other talukas were alleged to have been left without adequate development funds. Local office-bearers of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) raised the issue at the taluka level, after which former Zilla Parishad members also questioned the imbalance in allocations.
The original 15th Finance Commission plan, worth Rs 11.58 crore, was approved through Resolution 498 at the Zilla Parishad’s general body meeting on December 13, 2024. A supplementary plan worth Rs 4.53 crore was subsequently approved in connection with interest income received by the council, additional funds and money released from cancelled works, the report said. The minutes of the February 17, 2025 general body meeting recorded the approval of the supplementary plan.
The allocation of works in Mokhada has also raised questions over the preparation of project estimates. One proposed project involved spending approximately Rs 8 lakh on a school toilet described in the report as a high-end facility. Questions were raised because sanitation work linked to schools is generally handled by the education department, while the proposed repair work was planned through the construction department.
Concerns were also expressed over the estimated cost of repairing the toilet, which was reportedly several times higher than the cost of constructing a new facility. The Zilla Parishad has started an internal inquiry into the estimates and has sought an explanation from the construction department on why they were not prepared according to prevailing District Schedule of Rates, or DSR, provisions.
Some works included in the supplementary plan have already been completed. The administration said the remaining works would be reviewed and the available funds reallocated where necessary. The Zilla Parishad also plans to inspect works completed under the supplementary plan.
“An attempt will be made to ensure justice for all talukas through the remaining funds in the supplementary plan. The works carried out under this plan will be inspected,” Ranade said, according to the report. The next steps identified by the administration are the inspection of completed works, review of the remaining allocations and redistribution of funds for pending school sanitation and anganwadi-related work.
