Palghar | September 5, 2026
The Palghar Zilla Parishad will restructure the unspent portion of its Rs 4.53 crore supplementary plan under the 15th Finance Commission to address alleged regional imbalance in the distribution of development works, chief executive officer Manoj Ranade said.
The decision follows objections that the supplementary plan for 2025-26 favoured Jawhar and Vikramgad while leaving other talukas without an adequate share of development funding. The Zilla Parishad management has said that the remaining funds will be redistributed according to local need and geographical balance before the funding period ends.
The original plan of Rs 11.58 crore under the 15th Finance Commission was approved through resolution 498 at the Zilla Parishad’s general-body meeting on December 13, 2024. A supplementary plan of Rs 4.53 crore was subsequently prepared from interest received by the Zilla Parishad up to December 31, 2024, additional funds and money released from cancelled works, according to a summary of the February 17, 2025 general-body proceedings cited in the report.
The distribution of works under the supplementary plan became a subject of criticism after 35 works were approved in Mokhada and 15 in Vikramgad, while the remaining talukas were allegedly left out. Taluka-level office-bearers of the Shiv Sena (Thackeray) faction raised objections, after which former Zilla Parishad members also expressed dissatisfaction over the allocation. Some members met Zilla Parishad officials and sought changes to the plan.
Questions were also raised over a proposed toilet-related work in Mokhada. The project involved an estimated expenditure of about Rs 8 lakh for a school toilet. The report said that the work was planned through the construction department even though school-related works are generally handled by the education department. Questions were also raised because the estimated cost of repair work was several times higher than the cost of constructing a new toilet.
The Zilla Parishad has begun an internal inquiry into the estimates prepared for the works. The construction department has been asked to explain why the estimates were not prepared according to the prevailing Schedule of Rates, or DSR. The inquiry is separate from the planned review of works already approved under the supplementary plan.
According to Ranade, some works included in the supplementary plan have been completed, while the remaining funds will be redistributed to ensure a fairer allocation among all talukas. The Zilla Parishad plans to use part of the available funds to undertake pending toilet construction in 14 Zilla Parishad schools and repairs at anganwadi centres.
“An attempt will be made to ensure justice to all talukas through the remaining funds in the supplementary plan. The works undertaken under this plan will be inspected,” Ranade said. The next steps are the completion of the inspection and the reallocation of funds for works identified as necessary under the revised plan.
