GURGAON: Haryana municipal corporations have underutilised central and state grants, with Gurgaon emerging as one of the weakest performers despite receiving the largest allocation.Gurgaon spent only 9.3% under the central grant in the current fiscal and 52.2% under the state grant between 2022-23 and 2025-26. Corporation-wise data indicates the trend is widespread but especially pronounced in high-profile cities. As Nayab Singh Saini prepares to present the 2026-27 state budget – on March 2 – financial records accessed by TOI reveal under-utilisation of the state and Central Finance Commission (CFC) grants by municipal corporations across Haryana. However, MCG officials attribute the low utilisation of Finance Commission grants to “procedural and timing constraints”, saying the funds are project-specific, sometimes released late and tied to lengthy approval and tendering processes that delay actual spending.Data shows that civic bodies of Haryana collectively spent just Rs 33.4 crore out of Rs 353.6 crore released in the current fiscal year under CFC grants as of Dec 31, 2025. This accounts for an overall utilisation rate of only 9.5%. More than 90% of central funds earmarked for urban infrastructure remained unused. Gurgaon received the highest grant of Rs 94 crore among all municipal corporations but utilised only over 9%, placing it among the poorest performers.Faridabad, another municipal corporation, also lagged despite receiving one of the biggest allocations. Panchkula, Yamunanagar and Faridabad reported zero expenditure despite receiving Rs 25.5 crore, Rs 38.4 crore and Rs 33.6 crore, respectively, under the CFC this FY. Rohtak spent only 3.5% of its allocation, while Panipat recorded the highest utilisation but still only 37.8%, meaning no corporation used even half of its funds.However, during the previous grant cycle from 2020-21 to 2024-25, municipal corporations collectively utilised more than 90% of their central allocations. Several cities recorded near-perfect spending rates, including Panchkula and Gurgaon at 100% and Karnal and Panipat at over 99%. Under the State Finance Commission, municipal corporations received Rs 1,393 crore through transfers between 2022-23 and 2025-26. Of this, Rs 733 crore was spent by Dec 2025, an overall utilisation rate of 52.7%. No district crossed 62% over the three-year period. Faridabad recorded the lowest long-term utilisation at 48% despite receiving the largest allocation of Rs 307.6 crore. Gurgaon, which is the second-highest recipient with Rs 279 crore, spent only 52.2%, roughly in line with most corporations clustered in the low-50% range.A senior MCG official said, “Underutilisation happens because of multiple reasons. These grants are released for specific projects and can’t be diverted to other projects. Preparing detailed project reports, securing approvals and finalising tenders often takes months, delaying actual spending.” “Moreover, allocations sometimes arrive late. We received the CFC grant of 2023-24 just four months ago, so it is difficult to utilise it completely in the current FY. These grants are not immediately sanctioned. If allocations arrive late in the fiscal year, municipal bodies have limited time to spend them. Tender disputes, low bidder participation and cost revisions can stall projects, which eventually leads to underutilisation of these funds,” added the official.The municipal corporations are currently in the process of preparing the annual budget. The MCG allocated Rs 1,497 crore for the current FY and estimated income projections for the current FY were pegged at Rs 1,571 crore.
