india's decentralisation process received yet another blow during the past fortnight. The Union ministry of finance (mof) refused to release funds directly to panchayati raj institutions (pris) and district rural development agencies (drdas) for poverty alleviation programmes in the states. The ministry has reverted to the earlier system of routing money through the Consolidated Fund of respective states. It may now take months for the funds to reach villages. At present, money is transferred within a few weeks through pris and drdas.

The delay in the flow of funds is all the more inopportune since the country is in the process of implementing its largest drought relief programme. The number of projects sanctioned under another scheme