The Telangana government has authorised the State Mission Director of the Urban Challenge Fund (UCF) to grant in-principle administrative sanctions for projects proposed by urban local bodies, subject to specified approvals.An order issued by the Municipal Administration Department on October 22 directs urban local bodies across the State to follow the operational guidelines issued by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for the Urban Challenge Fund and its Credit Repayment Guarantee Sub-scheme (CRGSS), and to submit proposals accordingly.The in-principle sanctions can be granted for projects approved by the State Level High Powered Committee and forwarded to the Centre for approval, provided their Preliminary Project Reports have also been cleared by the Finance Department.The Mission Director may stipulate additional conditions for individual projects while granting sanctions to enable preparatory works to begin. The Commissioner and Director of Municipal Administration has been directed to take further action for submitting proposals for administrative sanction under the two schemes.The government had earlier designated the Secretary of the Municipal Administration Department as the State Mission Director and constituted State-level technical and high-powered committees to scrutinise and approve projects under the fund.The Urban Challenge Fund (UCF) is a centrally sponsored scheme of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) with a central assistance of ₹1,00,000 crore for the five year period ending 2030–31.It seeks to shift India’s urban policy from grant-based funding to market-linked development, with emphasis on private investment.
The scheme envisages projects with a minimum 50% funding through market linked sources such as banks, municipal bonds and private funding, and 25% each from the Central and State governments based on the fulfilment of the condition. Published - October 22, 2026 08:14 pm IST